Rawalpindi family court sentences father for failing to pay Rs200,000 in maintenance for his two children
RAWALPINDI:
A Rawalpindi family judge, Zeeshan Butt, sentenced a father to one year of rigorous imprisonment for failing to pay Rs200,000 in maintenance for his two young children despite a court order following his divorce from his wife over differences.
The court sent him to Adiala Jail and ordered that his sentence would commence on November 14, 2026, and continue until November 26, 2027.
The court further ruled that he would not be released on bail during this period. However, the former husband can secure immediate release by depositing one-third of the outstanding maintenance amount of Rs200,000 and submitting a surety bond undertaking to pay the remaining amount.
Read: Divorce, khula cases swamp family courts
The case, titled Jabeen Akhtar versus Zafar Mahmood, was heard by the family judge, who, after proceedings spanning one year, ordered the accused, former husband Zafar Mahmood, son of Sabir Hussain, to pay Rs200,000 as maintenance for his two children.
During proceedings for implementation of the decree, the court issued six warning notices to the father, directing him to deposit the maintenance amount.
However, the former husband appeared before the court and surrendered, stating that he was unemployed and did not even have money to buy food for his household, making it impossible for him to pay Rs200,000.
He told the court that he was facing severe unemployment, had exhausted his options after borrowing money from others and that the amount was too large for him to arrange.
The court observed that its decision constituted a judicial decree and that the father was bound to pay the Rs200,000 maintenance amount. For failing to comply with the decree, he was sentenced to one year in prison and sent to Adiala Jail.
The former wife, Jabeen Akhtar, belongs to Faisalabad, where she returned to live with her parents after the divorce, while her former husband is a resident of Mari Jabar Road, Rawalpindi.
