Indian woman says she was forced to marry Pakistani, tortured
Islamabad, May 8 (IANS) An Indian woman who has taken refuge in the Indian High Commission here says she was forced to marry at gunpoint a Pakistani man she met in Malaysia, a media report said on Monday.
Uzma has also told Indian diplomats that she was not aware that Pakistani Tahir Ali was already married and a father of four and also alleged that she was tortured in Pakistan after her marriage.
The Foreign Office quoted the Indian High Commission as telling Pakistani authorities that 20-year-old Uzma did not wish to live with Ali.
On Monday, Uzma recorded her statement in an Islamabad court, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in New Delhi.
"In her statement, she said she was sedated, assaulted, tortured mentally and physically in Pakistan by a Pakistani man who had met her in Malaysia, invited her to visit his family in Pakistan," Baglay sad.
"She said the man also made her sign Nikah Namah at gunpoint."
Pakistan's Geo News on Monday quoted Ali as saying that Uzma was aware of his earlier marriage but if she "does not wish to live with him, it is her right to do so".
According to Ali, he met Uzma, who is from New Delhi, in Malaysia. She travelled to Pakistan on May 1 via the Wagha-Attari border and got married to him at Buner on May 3.
Two days later, Ali and Uzma visited the Indian mission to obtain an Indian visa for him. But his wife never stepped out of the building and staffers at the High Commission denied she was there.
Uzma claimed her immigration documents were snatched after she reached Pakistan and she was harassed and tortured regularly while living with her Pakistani husband.
She filed a case under the Pakistan Penal Code and recorded her statement in front of a magistrate on Monday, saying she did not want to leave the Indian mission till she could safely travel back to India.
She told the court that she had taken shelter in the Indian mission on her own accord and would stay there till she was flown back to India with security.
"The High Commission of India has provided her necessary consular and legal assistance," Baglay said.
"It is coordinating with Pakistan Foreign Office for the safe return of the lady to India and is also in touch with her family in India."
The spokesperson said the woman's brother met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and sought the government's help to rescue his sister at the earliest.
According to Pakistani officials, Uzma's immigration documents state she travelled to Pakistan on a visit visa.
They said the Indian woman did not disclose her plans to marry in Pakistan when she applied for visa and instead expressed her desire to meet her relatives in Pakistan.
