An Indian Sikh woman, who married a local Muslim man during her visit to Pakistan in November, was held and sent to a government-run shelter home in Lahore, a Punjab government source said on Wednesday.
Forty-eight-year-old Sarabjeet Kaur was among around 2,000 Sikh pilgrims who entered Pakistan from India via the Wagah border in November last year to attend events linked to the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
While the pilgrims returned home after a few days, Kaur went missing. A senior Lahore police officer later said that she married Nasir Hussain of Sheikhupura district, about 50 km from Lahore, a day after arriving in Pakistan on November 4.
Subsequently, Kaur and Hussain filed a plea in the Lahore High Court alleging that the police had carried out an illegal raid at their house in Farooqabad in Sheikhupura and pressured them to end their marriage.
Lahore High Court Justice Farooq Haider had directed the police to stop harassing the couple.
“Instead of complying with the court order, the Punjab police detained the couple and sent Kaur to Darul Aman, a government-run shelter home in Lahore,” the Punjab government source said.
He said the authorities want to deport Kaur, while her husband remains in police custody in connection with a case. “The authorities earlier tried to deport Kaur but failed due to the closure of the Wagah-Attari border,” he said.
Earlier, in a video clip, Sarabjeet said she had approached the Indian embassy in Islamabad to extend her visa and had also applied for Pakistani nationality. “I am a divorcee and wanted to marry Hussain, so I came here for that purpose,” she said.
She was given a Muslim name, Noor, before the nikah ceremony. “I married Hussain of my own free will,” she added. Former Punjab Assembly member Mahinder Pal Singh had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court alleging that Kaur could be an “Indian spy”.
He said that staying in Pakistan after the expiry of her visa is illegal and that the matter is linked to Pakistan’s national security.
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