Sexually violated, forced to marry a Pakistani at gunpoint: Indian woman

A 20-year-old Indian woman, who approached the Indian High Commission with a request to repatriate her, on Monday told a court here that she was subjected to violence and sexual abuse after her forced marriage with a Pakistani citizen at gunpoint, marking a new turn in the case.

Uzma filed a plea with a court here against her husband Tahir Ali alleging that she was being harassed and intimidated by him. She also recorded her statement before a magistrate.

She told magistrate Haider Ali Shah that she came to Pakistan to see her relatives and not for marriage, a court official told PTI.

"I was forced to marry at gunpoint and my immigration documents were also taken away from me," she said, according to the official.

Uzma, who was brought to the court under strict security, also alleged in her statement that she was subjected to violence and sexual abuse by Tahir, said the court official.

She further said she does not want to leave the Indian High Commission premises till she could safely travel back to India.

The court adjourned the case till July 11 and issued notices to Tahir to appear for next hearing. It also summoned cleric Humayun Khan, who solemnized the marriage, to appear in person in the court on the next hearing.

Tahir was not available for comments but Uzma's father- in-law Nazir ur Rehman told BBC that Uzma contracted court marriage with his son before local judge in Daggar, the main town of Buner district in Khyber Pakhtunkwa, on May 3.

"The judge had asked her if she was marrying with free will and she said yes," according to Rehman.

He also said that his name (Rehman) was written as her relative in the visa application filed with Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. He also said that Uzma knew that Tahir was already married and had four children.

Tahir in his application to local police station on May 5 had said they had come to Indian High Commission to get visa as Uzma's brother in India had invited them for honeymoon.

He said he stayed outside and Uzma went inside the High Commission but never came back. He had asked police to help recover his wife who in his opinion was held against her will.

According to reports, Uzma's husband met her in the High Commission this morning but he was not present in the court.

Tahir has also switched off his mobile. But earlier he told media that Uzma was aware of his first marriage.

Uzma reached Pakistan on May 1 and traveled to Buner district in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtukhwa to marry Tahir on May 3. The couple reportedly met in Malaysia, where Tahir was working as taxi-driver.

The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi said that the immigration documents state that Uzma obtained the visa under the visit category.

Pakistani authorities have said she did not share her plans to marry in Pakistan when she applied for the visa and expressed her intent to visit her relatives in Pakistan.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria last night said "the Indian High Commission informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that an Indian national, Ms Uzma, 20, had approached them with the request to be repatriated to India."

He said that according to the Indian High Commission, she claimed to have married Tahir and alleged that she later came to know that he was already married and has four children.

Government sources in New Delhi said the Indian woman has sought the help of the Indian mission in Islamabad on May 5.

The High Commission is providing necessary consular assistance to her and is in touch with the Pakistan Foreign Office on the matter and the girl's family in India, said the sources.

Meanwhile, a page of Nikah (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, starting with Dr (doctor). But only "Dr Uzma" is clear while the last name cannot be deciphered from signatures.

According to the document, Tahir promises to take her to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj pilgrimage for Mehr - a gift from husband to his wife at the time of the marriage.