01/09/2006

Missing girl 'wants to remain in Pakistan'

A 12-year-old girl who was feared to have been abducted by her father and taken to Pakistan has said that she travelled to the country of her own free will.

Molly Campbell, also known as Misbah Iram Ahmed Rana, left her home in the Western Isles last week to travel to Pakistan with her father and older sister.

The girl's disappearance sparked an international manhunt and her mother, Louise Campbell made an emotional appeal for her return.

However, speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Molly said that it had been her decision to go to Pakistan and said that she wanted to remain in the country with her father, Sajad Ahmed Rana, and the rest of her family in Pakistan.

Molly, who said that she now wished to be known by her other name, Misbah, also confirmed that she had spoken with her mother by telephone. She also denied speculation that she had been taken to Pakistan to participate in an arranged marriage.

It is believed that Molly's family in Pakistan have promised Ms Campbell that she would be able to have regular contact with her daughter. However, as the child's legal guardian, Ms Campbell would be able to request a Pakistani judge to order that Molly be returned to Scotland, under the child abduction protocol.

Glasgow MP Mohammed Sarwar had travelled to Pakistan on Thursday in a bid to help resolve the situation.

(KMcA/SP)

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The mother of a schoolgirl at the centre of an international custody dispute has dropped her claim for full custody, it has been revealed. Louise Campbell had been fighting for custody of her daughter Molly Campbell, now known as Misbah Rana, who left her home in Scotland last year to live with her father in Pakistan.
29 August 2006
Mother's appeal over daughter's 'abduction'
The mother of a 12-year-old girl believed to have been abducted by her father from the Western Isles has appealed for her safe return. Molly Campbell, also known as Misbah Iram Ahmed Rana, is believed to have been collected from her school in Stornoway by her 18-year-old sister Tahmina on Friday.
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Pakistan Cricketers Face Punishment If Guilty
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28 August 2006
Police launch investigation into possible child abduction
Police have launched an investigation into the possible abduction of a 12-year-old girl in the Western Isles. Molly Campbell, also known as Misbah Iram Ahmed Rana, is believed to have been collected from her school in Stornoway by her eighteen-year-old sister Tahmina on Friday morning.