Petition on custody of kids: IHC orders man to hand over two children to their Polish mothers

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered a Pakistani citizen to hand over his two children to their Polish mothers in a petition regarding the custody dispute of kids.

The court directed the citizen to hand over the children and their passports to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for further processing.

Justice Mohsin Akhter Kayani heard the petition filed by two Polish women seeking custody of their children from their ex-husband Muhammad Saleem.

An official of Poland’s Embassy in Pakistan and the two children appeared before the bench.

The petitioner’s lawyer argued that his client was a Muslim and he had two children from his two Christian wives.

The children's father took the stance that he brought the children to Pakistan with the consent of their mothers, adding his relationship with his wives was affected due to religion as they (wives) used to take his kids to church. He said he had a large business chain in Poland and he used to help the two women.

He further said he was ready even to quit his Polish citizenship for his kids. The court said the father could nurture his children while staying in Poland.

The father said it was difficult for him to raise his children in the Islamic way as the nearest mosque was some 300 kilometers away from his house.

The court said if the father owned a large business in Poland, he could construct a mosque near his home.

The two women on the occasion refused to meet their husband. The court was told that the women had reached Pakistan in the morning.

After listening to arguments, the court ordered to hand over the kids to their Polish mothers.

The court said that the two children would be kept in Polish Embassy and would be produced again tomorrow (Wednesday).

The court said it had temporarily handed over the children to the mothers and would decide the matter after hearing further arguments.

The father said that he had brought his children to Pakistan in August 2021 with the legal permission of the mothers. He also produced the permission letter before the court.

The lawyer said that the two children were Polish citizens and they were studying there.

The court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022