IN THE ILFORD COUNTY COURT BETWEEN RASHIDA IMTIAZ AHMED -andIMTIAZ AHMED

Case no.

Petitioner

Respondent

WITNESS STATEMENT OF IMTIAZ AHMED

I Imtiaz Ahmed of 903-904 Nazim Block, Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore say as follows:-

1. From November 1995 until 2002, I was living in Lahore but travelling

frequently to London in order to maintain a good relationship with my children in the UK. I was trying to settle back in the UK as I missed my children. I was reliant entirely upon my father for income and my wife was reliant on her father. My wife had one brother who settled in Italy and my father in law had a Job in Saudi Arabia and had been living there for thirty years. Her family would send money to her to look after her financially, whilst my father would do likewise. During that time, I was not working myself. In 2002, my uncle set up a company called Great Fame Clothing and he gave me a job as a supervisor.
2. The Lahore property was in desperate need of repairs in 1996 and I had no

money to pay for them myself. My current wife suggested that we sell the property to her parents and obtain money from them but I refused. In those circumstances, it was agreed within the family that my father in law would pay for the refurbishment the Lahore property on the basis that it be transferred into my wifes sole name. If the refurbishment work had not been carried out the Lahore property would have become uninhabitable. I no longer have a substantial interest in the Lahore property because, under Pakistani law which

is derived from Islamic jurisprudence, I would only be entitled to one-eighth of my wifes estate upon her death, and for the remainder of her life, I am not entitled to any share of her property even upon divorce.
3. In further clarification of Paragraph 14 of my previous statement, the proceeds

of sale of the Sialkot Property which formed part of my deceased fathers estate were split four ways, and not three ways as otherwise stated, between myself, my two brothers and my step-mother. My elder brother gave me some additional money from his share of the proceeds of sale as a goodwill gesture, and so I received a total of Rs.1,000,000 (the equivalent of 7,246). Rs.900,000 (6,521) of those monies were placed in a term deposit scheme. I have since cashed in that deposit scheme and used Rs.400,000 (2,899) towards my familys day-to-day expenses, on my sons education, and to pay for my trips to the UK for the purposes of these proceedings. The remainder of Rs.500,000 is still held in a bank account which will be used for the cost of final court hearing.

4. My father also owner a plot of land, hereafter referred to as the Ulla Walla

plot. When the plot of land was sold, I received Rs.1,000,000 for my interest in that plot and I placed those sums in a term deposit scheme. I am using the interest from that deposit scheme to help pay for my household expenses in Pakistan.

5. My elder brother and a friend of mine, Mr M L Chaudary, have paid 6,500

towards my legal fees to date, and I shall have to pay them back once the proceedings have ended. I shall also be paying my outstanding legal fees at the end the Financial Order proceedings.

6. During my employment with Great Fame Clothing, monies would be paid into

my account by my Uncle which I was then to use as disbursements for the workers wages and other daily expenses. Although my job title was supervisor, I was to all extents and purposes the person with the day-to-day

conduct of running the business and was effectively one of its managers. I was in receipt of a salary of Rs.10,000 per month (the equivalent of 73).

7. Regarding the valuation of the FMH, I have visited a number of local estate

agents to ask about the values of properties in the much sought-after Woodgrange Estate, and I have attached property details of the local area to this statement at Exhibit IA1. I do not agree that the valuation by Strettons is an accurate reflection of the value of the FMH in light of the details that I have obtained, and I believe that the value of the FMH is at least 650,000.

8. As there are very few flats in the Woodgrange Estate, it has been difficult to obtain details for them from estate agents. However, I have attached information at Exhibit IA2 of a flat outside of the Estate which is available for rent for 850 per month. I believe this to be the market rental value of the one bedroom self-contained property attached to the FMH.

9. At Exhibit IA3, I have attached property details of two bedroom flats in the

local area which I intend to buy in order to meet my future housing needs. The properties are on the market for between 175,000 and 200,000, and I believe that such properties would also be appropriate for the Petitioner.

10. I am unemployed now and entirely reliant upon the interest from my bank

account in order to meet my household expenses in Pakistan. I do not have any future in Pakistan and I am waiting for my son Waqas to complete his Matriculation (GCSE-equivalent) exams. I am determined to return to the UK. However, there are difficulties involved in making an application for settlement in the UK for my current wife. Until the FMH is sold and I am in receipt of my share of the proceeds of sale, any applications made for settlement in the UK by my current wife would be likely to fail as I am not financially able to meet our housing needs in the UK.

11. My wifes application for settlement would also be likely to fail because,

without my being able to prove to the appropriate authorities that we are financially secure as a family, the authorities would consider my family to be at risk of becoming a burden upon the state. As a result of that difficulty, my current wife has been legally advised not to make any such application until the end of the Ancillary Relief proceedings. However, our intention remains to come to the UK and to settle here as soon as possible thereafter.
12. I also anticipate some of the proceeds of sale of the FMH would be used by

for entering into a business venture with my brother who currently resides in the UK, and has a successful business of Mobile phones business in Ilford thereby giving me and my family a steady income from that business.

I believe that the facts stated in this statement are true.

Signed ............................... Imtiaz Ahmed

Dated.................................