'Want to come back': Indian woman who married Pakistani
What's the story
An unauthenticated audio clip, purportedly of Sarabjeet Kaur, an Indian woman who converted to Islam and married a Pakistani after she went on a pilgrimage to Pakistan, has gone viral. The 48-year-old from Punjab's Kapurthala district had gone missing during a Sikh pilgrimage in November last year. She married Nasir Hussain of the Sheikhupura district, a day after arriving in Pakistan. In the clip, Kaur asks her former husband to bring her back home, claiming harassment by her new family.
Legal complications
Kaur's marriage and subsequent legal troubles in Pakistan
Kaur was the only person among the 2,000 pilgrims who did not return to India after visiting Nankana Sahib in Lahore. Kaur was reported to have contracted marriage with Nasir Hussain of the Sheikhupura district a day after she arrived in Pakistan on November 4. Kaur and Hussain had later even filed a petition in the Lahore High Court complaining that the police had conducted an illegal raid at their house and pressured them to end the marriage.
Visa plea
Kaur's visa extension request and allegations of espionage
The court ordered an end to harassment, but Kaur was reportedly arrested and sent to a government-run shelter home in Lahore. A Punjab government source was quoted as saying by NDTV that authorities want to deport her while Hussain remains in custody. In an earlier video clip, Kaur claimed she had approached the embassy in Islamabad for a visa extension and Pakistani nationality. She claimed she married Hussain willingly, saying she was a divorcee who wanted to marry him.
Controversy
Ripples felt at internatinal level
Kaur was given a Muslim name, Noor, before the nikah ceremony. "I happily married Hussain," she added in the earlier video. A former member of the Punjab Assembly in Pakistan, Mahindar Pall Singh, had alleged that she could be an "Indian spy." He filed a petition in the Lahore High Court and said, "Staying in Pakistan after the expiry of her visa is an illegal act as the matter is linked to Pakistan's national security."
Harassment claims
Audio clip alleges harassment, financial distress
Authorities in Pakistan reportedly wanted to deport Kaur while her husband is in police custody, facing a case. This did not materialize, however, due to the closure of the Wagah-Attari border. In the viral audio clip, Kaur purportedly alleges she is being harassed. A woman is heard as saying, "I am being harassed here. I cannot live without my children. I used to give millions of rupees to people; I am a Sardarni, yet I am left pleading for money."