The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday conducted a hearing of the case of Arzoo Fatima, a Christian girl who was allegedly abducted, forcibly converted, and forcefully married to a Muslim man, and decided to send her to shelter home until further notice.

While conducting the hearing, the court had asked Arzoo Fatima again if she wanted to go with her parents but she replied in negative. The SCH ordered to shift the girl to Darul Aman (women shelter home) upon her request.

The court also directed the home department to arrange counseling for Arzoo Fatima along with the provision of other facilities including education and asked police to submit a report in lower court following a transparent investigation.

Earlier this month, the court had decided to proceed against Arzoo's alleged husband for violating the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act 2013 after establishing the fact that she indeed is a minor.

The court had constituted a medical board to determine her age. The board determined that the biological age of the girl is between 14 to 15 years.

A division bench, headed by Justice K K Agha, upon hearing the details had directed the police to take the girl back to a shelter home. Arzoo had maintained in the previous hearings that she is an adult and she consented to the conversion and marriage.

The minor has reiterated the same line of argument during all hearings that she had not been kidnapped and had willingly married Syed Ali Azhar after converting to Islam.