In a significant ruling on divorces under Sharia law, the Texas Supreme Court has given a landmark judgement in a high-profile divorce case involving Pakistani-origin billionaire Mohammad Ali Choudhri and his wife Hira Azhar.
The Texas Supreme Court, in its judgement, ruled the “talaq” (divorce) of Choudhri and Azhar under Sharia law in Pakistan as invalid in the state of Texas, nearly a decade after the couple separated, paving the way for Azhar to share in her husband’s estate.
What is the case?
According to details, Hira Azhar got married to Mohammad Ali Choudhri, a Houston-based Pakistani-American business tycoon, in an arranged marriage in her native Pakistan in 2008, and moved to Texas in 2010.
Over the years, the couple accumulated over $100 million in community assets, but in 2013, Choudhri reportedly sent back Azhar to Pakistan under the pretext of a visa renewal and allegedly obtained a secret ‘talaq’ from his wife under Sharia law, paying her just $50 in settlement, as per reports.
Upon returning to the United States in 2015, Hira challenged the alleged secret Sharia divorce in court. She filed for divorce in Harris County, but it recognized her divorce conducted in Pakistan, prompting her to take her case to the First Court of Appeals in Houston.
Why Texas declared Sharia divorce invalid?
Eventually, after nearly a decade, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in her favour, declaring Sharia law divorce invalid in the state, citing violation of fundamental due-process protections, and that notice provided by Choudhri to Hira was constitutionally insufficient.
The court annulled Hira and Choudhri’s divorce in Pakistan, and ruled that the couple must go through an official divorce process under Texan laws, paving the way for Azhar to claim a share in her husband’s estate.
Mohammad Ali Choudhri, who grew up in Houston, Texas since the age of three, is a Pakistani-American billionaire tycoon and the founder and CEO of Jetol Capital. Choudhri reportedly owns real estate assets worth over $1.2 billion in the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Dubai.
