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| India-Pakistan |
| Scotch girl: My choice to join dad in Pakistan |
| 2006-09-04 |
| LAHORE, Pakistan -- A 12-year-old girl at the center of an international custody battle said Sunday that she left her mother's home in Scotland of her own free will and prefers life with her father in Pakistan."I love Scotland, but I love Islam more," Molly Campbell, also called Misbah Iram Ahmed Rana, said at her first news conference with Pakistani media. "I am determined to be a Scottish Muslim of whom Scotland may be proud one day." Her father, Sajad Ahmed Rana, sitting beside her and her older sister at the news conference, accused his Scottish ex-wife of persuading his daughter to eat food forbidden by Islam and to drink alcohol, also prohibited for Muslims. The mother, Louise Campbell, last year won legal custody of her daughter and says the girl was abducted from her Scotland home Aug. 25. Louise Campbell could not be reached for comment Sunday. The girl has signed a legal statement saying she left of her own free will and wants to live with her father in Pakistan, according to lawyer Mohammed Basit. "Call me Molly, if you like," she told reporters. "But not Molly Campbell." Lahore Judge Amir Javed Rana awarded custody to the father until Sept. 6 to give the mother time to come for a hearing to decide guardianship. The girl said Sunday that she asked her older sister to help her return to Pakistan and her father, who visited Scotland on Aug. 24. Scottish police investigators say the case could be a violation of the Child Abduction Act. Prosecutors will determine whether to take action. Bashir Mann, president of the National Association of British Pakistanis, said media reports alleging the girl would participate in an arranged marriage with an older Pakistani man were "totally rubbish." The 12-year-old said her father has told her she can marry anyone of her choice. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #13 That's why God made the SAS. And Vise Grips. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-04 23:38 |
| #12 I see no way to successfully extract her from the situation. That's why God made the SAS. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-09-04 18:36 |
| #11 Looking at the spelling and the word choice, this must be a different bk than the one we all know and love. Separately, now that the girl is in Pakistan and in her father's custody, there isn't a hope in hell that she will be allowed to go back to Scotland with her mother, no matter how she came to be there or to whom the Scottish court originally granted custody. So I can only hope that the girl's statements reflect her true feelings, because I see no way to successfully extract her from the situation. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-09-04 18:02 |
| #10 WTF BK? I gotta assume your just pokin the tigers here don't really mean to say you support this crap??? |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-09-04 17:20 |
| #9 Scotch girl: My choice to join dad in Pakistan The way that headline will probably read after this girl suddenly realizes how poorly her Western ways fit in: Scotch girl: My choice to join dead in Pakistan touchy abit arent we, boo hoo bk, go live in Pakistan, you moron. See just how long you would last in such a profoundly backward and ultra-violent culture. My guess is; Under five minutes. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-04 16:45 |
| #8 I have to agree, It IS our business, at least untill the child attains majority (That's 21 years not 12) until then it IS society's business to protect children, including protecting them from themselves. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-09-04 16:40 |
| #7 BK, we in America typically like to shield 6th grade girls from the type of circumstances generally seen in Pakiland. You know, the honor killings for not choosing the right husband, the fatal stonings endured by rape VICTIMS, the inability to actually choose ones religion w/o being killed for choosing something other than islam, etc. It's all of our business - we all have a stake in ensuring that mind-bendingly rigid and brutal cults like radicalized islam do not flourish. It's a human rights issue at its base. You remember human rights, don't you? |
| Posted by: gb506 2006-09-04 12:52 |
| #6 "touchy abit arent we, boo hoo" A bit stuck on stupid, aren't we? Do your parents know you are playing with the computer unsupervised? A 12 year old, girl or boy, is incapable of deciding what is in their best interest. Especially with regard to religion and marriage. It may, or may not be Frank G's & Barb's business, but it is someones business, and they do have a right to their opinion. Now, as Frank said, F*CK OFF! |
| Posted by: Texas Redneck 2006-09-04 11:45 |
| #5 touchy abit arent we, boo hoo |
| Posted by: bk 2006-09-04 10:51 |
| #4 I guess it's not my business that some brainwashed twit decides to live with 7th century society mores, bk...but I certainly CAN say it's stoopid btw, f*ck off |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-09-04 10:42 |
| #3 and thats YOUR business how? Frank G and Barbara |
| Posted by: bk 2006-09-04 10:31 |
| #2 Anyone of her choice from among the two or three rich old men her father picks out. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-04 09:58 |
| #1 The 12-year-old said her father has told her she can marry anyone of her choice as long as she chooses this year |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-09-04 09:44 |