Misbah’s custody given to Scottish mother

LAHORE—A Pakistani court on Wednesday ordered a British girl at the center of a custody dispute to be returned to her mother in Scotland. Justice Saqib Nisar of the High Court in Lahore said Molly Campbell’s father, Sajad Ahmed Rana, must hand her over in a week.
Police in Britain launched an investigation in August after 12-year-old Molly left her mother in the Western Isles of Scotland to travel to Lahore to be with her father. When judge announced his decision the girl put her head on her father’s shoulder and started to cry. She did not speak to reporters, but her father vowed to fight on.
“I’m very upset. I’m so depressed. I can’t speak too much but what I want to say is that I’ll go for an appeal,” Rana told reporters. His lawyer, Abdul Basit, said he would challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court in coming days. The girl’s mother, Louise Campbell, had refused to come to Pakistan for any hearings, but speaking after the victory she said she wanted to give Molly a “big hug and breathe her in.” “I think Molly is going to be quite scared and confused. I just want to tell her that it is all going to be OK — it’s all going to work out,” she told BBC Scotland. The girl, known by the Pakistani side of her family as Misbah Irum Ahmed Rana, had said she wanted to stay with her father.
Rana has been ordered to hand Molly to a female official from the British High Commission (embassy) within seven days, after which she could be returned to her mother. A High Commission representative was present in court.—Agencies