SUKKUR:A heavily-indebted man gave his eight-year-old daughter in marriage to a 50-year-old moneylender to clear the debt in the Jungal village in Jacobabad district on Sunday night.

Sources in the village said that Mohammad Siddiq Shaikh had taken a loan of Rs50,000 on heavy interest from one Nihal Chachar of Pano Akil, which had swollen to Rs150,000 with Rs100,000 interest over 30 months, and Nihal had been pushing him to pay back but Siddiq was unable to clear the debt.

On Sunday night, Nihal accompanied by his accomplices visited Siddiq’s house and repeated his demand to which Siddiq said he would not be able to pay.

Nihal asked him to give his minor daughter Zamiran in marriage to him to get the debt cleared, sources said and added that Siddiq first rejected the proposal but he had to agree after being subjected to maltreatment and threats by Nihal and his accomplices.

He called schoolteacher and moulavi Inayatullah Soomro who solemnised his daughter’s nikkah with Nihal.

Sources claimed that Nihal forcibly took away Zamiran with him after the nikkah. The SHO of Thull police station Gul Mohammad Mahar confirmed the report and said that he, too, had learnt about it this evening and was going to the village to investigate it. He said that nobody had so far come forward to file a complaint in this regard.

Jacobabad DPO Pir Farid Jan Sarhandi was not available for comments.
Source: Dawn
Date:4/21/2009