NEW DELHI: The Indian woman, who has been seeking shelter in the Indian Embassy in Pakistan, deposed in front of judicial magistrate in Islamabad and contended that she was physically assaulted and forced to marry at gunpoint by the Pakistani man claiming to be her husband.
The Indian Embassy, which has been in touch with her family in India and with Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been providing her consular and legal help.Dr. Uzma has been taking shelter in the Indian Embassy since May 5 following which Tahir Ali from Pakistan lodged a police complaint claiming that she had been illegally detained there.She was on Monday produced in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class in Islamabad, as per local legal requirement.
“In her statement, she said the 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 and provided the requisite sponsorship letter to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi for her visa. She also stated that the same man also made her sign Nikah Namah at gunpoint,” Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
The 20-year-old woman had entered Pakistan via Wagah border on May 1 and was allegedly married to Tahir Ali on May 3. Tahir met Uzma in Malaysia and thereafter invited her to visit Pakistan to meet his family.
Uzma’s brother met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to seek her repatriation to India at the earliest. Uzma is an Indian passport holder and is safe in the Indian Embassy that is treated as Indian territory.
The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi said that the immigration documents state that Uzma obtained the visa to go to the other country under the ‘visit’ category.
Uzma is Indian in marriage document.
Marriage document of the couple, filled in Urdu and available on local media, shows that Uzma D/o Muhammad Noshad is an Indian citizen. She has signed it with full name, but only “Dr Uzma” is clear while the last name cannot be deciphered.