Islamabad:
On Tuesday, the Superior Court of Islamabad (IHC) ordered a Pakistani father to ensure a weekly video call contact between his youngest daughter and his Polish mother in an ongoing case of child custody.
Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard the request presented by the Polish mother who was looking for the return of her daughter of Pakistan. In compliance with judicial orders, the father, Aposel Khan, appeared before the court and presented the child.
After the court instructions, the four and a half year old girl, Anita Maryam Khan, was allowed to talk to her mother, Anna Monica, through a video link in a separate room. According to reports, it was his first conversation in three years, since the child was taken to Pakistan when he had only one and a half.
The Court ordered the father to facilitate video calls weekly between the mother and the daughter and to present a report on the implementation during the next hearing. The mother also received instructions to provide an update on the progress of the parallel custody case that is heard in a Polish court on June 16.
During the process, the court asked if the child recognized his mother. The father’s lawyer declared that the girl recognized her mother but did not file a lot of conversation due to the long separation. Judge Kayani emphasized that, for now, the court could only restore contact between the child and his mother by virtual means.
In response to the Court’s consultations, Apareel Khan said that he left Poland due to the mother’s threats and that he no longer had a Polish citizenship. He claimed that the mother had tried to harm him both to him and the child, and said that he had also approached the Polish courts on the matter.
The Court postponed the hearing until July 9 and ordered both parties to fulfill the orders in the meantime.
