FCC sets guidelines for cross-border child custody disputes
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Wednesday issued guidelines for courts and authorities handling custody disputes between parents of different nationalities, affirming that international child abduction protocols must be respected and foreign custody orders given due consideration. The directive came when a three-judge FCC bench, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and…
The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) recently released guidelines addressing custody disputes involving parents from different nationalities. The FCC emphasized the importance of respecting international child abduction protocols and acknowledging foreign custody orders. The ruling originated from a three-judge FCC panel, led by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and including Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Rozi Khan Barrech.
The FCC overruled a March 16, 2022, Sindh High Court order that required the father, Muhammad Faraz Shaikh, a US citizen, to return custody of his minor son to Javeria Shahani, the child's mother. If the father failed to comply, the Sindh High Court stipulated that an FIR should be registered under child abduction provisions. Additionally, the Sindh High Court ordered Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, and Department of Human Rights Affairs to take necessary steps to ensure the child's return to court.
The FCC's eight-page judgment emphasized that in custody disputes involving parents of differing nationalities, the court should take into account the jurisdiction of the foreign court that issued the prior order. The guidelines stated that removing or retaining a child in another country is unlawful if it conflicts with the laws, court orders, or legal agreements of the child's country of residence prior to the move.
The child should be returned to that country unless they have become fully established in the new location.
Furthermore, once notified of a child's removal, a local court cannot decide custody without first determining if the child must be returned under the 1980 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The FCC addressed the circumstances of Faraz Shaikh, a resident of North Carolina, who married Javeria Shahani in August 2017.
They moved to Pakistan in January 2019 and welcomed a son, Rohaan Faraz Shaikh, who holds a US passport. The couple separated in October 2021, igniting a custody dispute. On February 3, 2022, the General Court of Justice ordered temporary joint custody for both parents. Shaikh visited the designated exchange location on May 6, 2022, but upon discovering his wife had taken the child to Karachi and sought Pakistani citizenship without his consent, he learned of their departure.
On May 9, 2022, the General Court issued an "Ex-Parte Temporary Emergency Custody Order," requiring the mother to return to North Carolina and surrender the child to the father. As a result, Rohaan was handed over to the US Embassy in Karachi on February 2, 2024, and returned to the United States.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn - Pakistan's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
