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Indian woman says forcibly married to Pakistani man, wants to be repatriated
Uzma, a resident of New Delhi, says she was forcibly married to Pakistani national Tahir Khan and that she won’t leave the Indian mission in Islamabad till she is repatriated home.
An Indian woman, who says she was forcibly married to a Pakistani man at gun point, said on Monday she would not leave the Indian high commission in Islamabad till she is repatriated with “full security”.
The woman, identified only as Uzma, approached the judicial magistrate’s court with an application that stated she wants to “go back to my homeland” of her own will. “I would like to go back to my home with full security,” the application said.
The court recorded Uzma’s statement and set July 11 as the next date for hearing the case.
Uzma, who hails from New Delhi, met and became friendly with Tahir Khan, a resident of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, in Malaysia, her application said. She got in touch with Khan again after returning to India.
The application said Khan “forced” her to get a Pakistani visa to visit him. When she crossed the Wagah land border, Khan picked up Uzma in a car and, after travelling a short distance, gave her a sleeping pill, she told reporters outside the court.
She awoke at 10 pm to find herself in Khan’s home in a “strange village with strange people”. Khan’s family did not speak Hindi.
“That night, Tahir sexually assaulted and tortured me and threatened to kill me…Next day, they brought me to a dirty and strange house, they took my signature on Nika Nama (marriage contract) at gun point,” the application said.
Uzma said she found out later that Khan already had a wife and four children. She added she was beaten and tortured and that she managed to get away from Khan when she came to the Indian mission in Islamabad to receive some money sent by her brother in Delhi.
“I do not want to go outside the High Commission until I return to my home in Delhi,” she said in her application.
Uzma told the media: “I am in the high commission of my own will. No one is forcing me...I will not come out of the high commission, that’s it.”
Khan had claimed the Indian mission had detained Uzma when she went there to apply for his visa. However, this has been rejected by Indian officials. He told the media on Monday that he had proof that he had married Uzma in a court.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said it had been informed by the Indian mission that Uzma wanted to be repatriated. In an official statement, the Foreign Office acknowledged Uzma had alleged that Khan “was already married and had four children”.
In New Delhi, the external affairs ministry spokesperson said: “The high commission of India has provided her necessary consular and legal assistance. It is coordinating with the Pakistan Foreign Office for the safe return of the lady to India...Her brother met the external affairs minister and requested the government’s help to rescue his sister at the earliest.”
