A Dhaka court on Thursday advised the Japanese mother and Bangladeshi father, who have been in a legal fight over custody of two children, to reconcile the matter and start a family together.
Dhaka District and Sessions Judge Habibur Rahman Bhuiya said this while accepting an appeal on the custody of the children. The court will fix a day for the reconciliation between the Japanese mother and the Bangladeshi father to start a family together.
On February 1, the appeal was filed on behalf of Imran Sharif, the father of two children, in the district judge court of Dhaka. He filed the appeal challenging the verdict of Family Court. The court fixed February 16 as the date for hearing the matter.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir, lawyer of the Japanese mother, said that his client is ready to sit for reconciliation. “There was never any objection from the mother to sit in the discussion, and not also yet. In fact, we have always tried to negotiate. The efforts will continue. An open-minded solution with the welfare of the children in mind is always open to a negotiated solution,” he said.
Dhaka’s Second Additional Assistant and Family Court Judge Durdana Rahman announced the verdict on January 29, granting custody of Nakano Jasmine Malika, 12, and Nakano Laila Lina, 11, to their mother, Japanese citizen Nakano Eriko.
In the verdict, the court said that the mother will have the guardianship of two children. At the same time, the verdict states that their mother Nakano Eriko can go to Japan with the girls.
Nakano Eriko married Bangladesh-born US citizen Imran Sharif in 2008 in Japan. They became parents of three children after that. In 2020, Nakano Eriko filed a divorce petition with a Japanese court. Imran Sharif after that took two of their daughters with him and came to Bangladesh.
Nakano Eriko later came to Bangladesh to begin a legal battle over the custody of her two children. She filed petition after petition with the apex court for the custody of the children.
The High Court on August 31 in 2021 had ordered Imran Sharif and Nakano Eriko to live at a flat together at Gulshan in the capital for 15 days with their two daughters. The court had also asked the Department of Social Services to look over the matter and the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is being asked to ensure the safety of this family.
The court finally came up with its order as the couple failed to reach a consensus on where and with whom their two daughters Nakano Jasmine Malika and Nakano Laila Lina will live, in spite of repeated instructions from the court.
The Supreme Court, however, on February 13 in 2022 said that until the disposal of the case by Dhaka family court, the two children will remain in the custody of their mother, while their father can meet them in the house. Later, the family court issued the verdict.