Pakistan court grants 13-year-old to foster parents, citing child’s wellbeing

A Pakistani court on Wednesday ruled that a 13-year-old child should remain in the custody of "adoptive parents", overturning a lower court decision that had awarded custody to the child’s biological parents.

The Lahore High Court emphasized that the child’s wishes and well-being take precedence in custody disputes.

Justice Faisal Zaman Khan issued an eight-page written verdict in response to a petition filed by the biological parents. The court noted that the teenager had consistently expressed a preference to stay with the foster parents, who had cared for the child since birth, rather than return to the biological family.

While biological parents typically have a primary right to custody, the court highlighted that the child had been voluntarily placed with a sibling at birth. The foster parents raised the child for nine years, providing a stable and familiar environment.

The court found that transferring the child to a large biological family, where the father has three marriages and 13 children, would not be in the child’s best interests.

The judgment also cited the emotional impact on the child, who has grown up with six sisters and one brother in the foster home. The court concluded that disrupting this environment could cause significant distress, noting that the biological parents’ claim appeared driven by a domestic dispute rather than the child’s welfare.

The lower court had initially granted custody to the biological parents in 2022, but the foster parents appealed. The Lahore High Court’s decision now allows the child to remain in the foster home, while the biological parents may seek visitation rights through the Guardian Court.