Shahzina Tariq, the ‘bride’ in the same-sex marriage, has said she would prefer to stay with Shumail Raj, the ‘bridegroom’, after the controversy surrounding their marriage ends.
Recording her statement before civil judge Syed Hassan Abbas Rizvi, Shahzina said she was not abducted by anyone, adding that their marriage took place with mutual consent.“I called Shumail and wished to be ‘his’ life partner and ‘he’ responded to my proposal positively,” the Dawn quoted her, as saying.
She went on to say that after release, she would not join her parents owing to life threats and would prefer to stay with Shumail anywhere.
Referring to the case registered with the Jhang Bazaar police station on the request of her father Tariq Husain, she said Khalid Bhatti and others nominated in the case had nothing to do with the matter.
“They had been implicated in the case only for grudge,” she added. Justice Khwaja Mohammad Sharif of the Lahore High Court had sentenced the couple to three years in jail on charges of perjury. They were also fined Rs10,000 each.
Later, the apex court granted the couple bail, but they were not released so far. Couple Shumail, 36, and Shehzina, 25, are cousins and were friends since childhood.
Source-ANI
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