Kashmir man’s quest to meet Pakistani influencer ends in detention in Gujarat

Imtiyaz Sheikh thought he could enter Pakistan legally via the Kutch border and asked locals for help to get permission from authorities.

Updated on: Sep 25, 2024, 22:45:06 IST

By HT News Desk

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With hopes of meeting a Pakistani social media influencer from Multan in Pakistan, Imtiyaz Sheikh, a resident of Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir, travelled to Gujarat's Kutch to cross the border but was detained by police.

Sheikh, 36, believed he could legally enter Pakistan through the Kutch border and sought assistance from local residents in Khavda village to obtain permission from the authorities, said officials.

A security personnel at BOP Narabet near India-Pakistan international border in Gujarat. (Siddharaj Solanki/ Hindustan Times File Photo)

“Sheikh reached Khavda hoping to cross the border and enter Pakistan to meet a woman he met online. He was under the impression that he could cross into Pakistan from this border. We detained him after he reached Khavda on Tuesday,” PTI quoted Kutch (west) superintendent of police Sagar Bagmar as saying.

However, after a preliminary investigation and fact-checking with Sheikh’s family and local police in Jammu and Kashmir, authorities found no threat and released him later that evening.

Bagmar also said that Sheikh seemed to be mentally unstable.

Inspector MB Chauhan said that Sheikh's misguided attempt arose from his quest for a more straightforward route to meet the influencer, as traveling from Kashmir was impractical.

“Sheikh was attracted towards a Pakistani social media influencer from Multan city and decided to meet her. He used Google Maps and concluded that Kutch was his best option,” added Chauhan.

He sought help from villagers to secure permission from authorities to legally enter Pakistan. "We brought him to the police station after being alerted by villagers," Chauhan said.

Also read: Jammu and Kashmir assembly election: 20 of 26 assembly segments see lower turnout than 2014

Earlier in June, a cross-border love story that started on social media came to an abrupt halt when a youth from Uttar Pradesh was detained by the Border Security Force at the Khokhar border outpost near the international border in Fazilka.

The youth identified as Juneil, son of Khurshid had reached the border and was reportedly attempting to cross into Pakistan to meet his lover before being handed over to the police.

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