ANSWER.

02: Letter of advice:

Dear Mr. Gul,
I hope you’ve been well. Recently you wrote to me that you had been facing the charges of
alleged abduction, forced conversion of religion and rape of victim, "ARZOO MASEEH" aged 15.
As you’ve described it, that the judge directed the court office to issue bailable warrants for the
arrest of five suspects in this case and you are one of them including the Mufti Sahab (who
allegedly performed the marriage of the girl when she was a teenager). Specifically, you have
asked for advice on the question that which sections will be applicable and whether you should
plead guilty in the court or not.
Under these facts, a court would likely apply the well-settled law that under the Sindh Child
Marriages Restraint Act, 2013, the marriage of either party who is less than 18 years old is
prohibited. The sections applied to this case can likely be Sections 365-B (kidnapping, abducting
or inducing woman to compel for marriage etc.), 376 (punishment for rape), 342 (punishment
for wrongful confinement), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common
intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
To sum up, based on the facts as I have recited them in this letter, I would recommend that you
should plead guilty in the court. Pleading guilty allows you to resolve a case more quickly and
avoid the uncertainty of a trial. Juries can be unpredictable and more evidence may be
uncovered by the prosecution. Trials can be very expensive. If you plead guilty to a crime you
will be required to serve minimum sentence.
I hope this is helpful, and would be happy to discuss this matter with you further. Please feel
free to call my office if you have questions, or would like to meet.
Very truly yours,
Ibadullah Shah