'26/11-like attack if Seema Haider doesn't return': Who is Pakistani woman in the headlines?

On Wednesday, the Mumbai Police received a threat warning of a ‘26/11-like attack’. The reason for the threat? A Pakistani woman named Seema Haider. “If Seema Haider does not come back then India will be destroyed,” an unidentified caller claimed, as per News18. But who is Haider? And why is she in the news? Let’s take a closer look: Who is she? According to News18, 27-year-old Haider lived in Pakistan’s Sindh province in Khairpur district. Haider, a Muslim, connected with 22-year-old Sachin Meena, a Hindu and shopkeeping assistant, during the COVID-19 lockdown playing the online game PUBG. “We became friends and our friendship turned to love and our chats became longer – every morning and night – before we finally decided to meet,” said Seema, speaking to AFP from the cramped courtyard of Sachin’s two-room family home, where she now lives.

According to BBC, Haider and Meena first met in person in Nepal in March.

They spent a couple of days at a hotel before returning to Pakistan and India. Haider, a married mother of four, then left Pakistan and her husband. Haider, accompanied by her children, travelled to Nepal in May. BBC quoted Greater Noida police official Saad Miya Khan as saying that Haider travelled to Nepal on a tourist visa the second time. Police said Haider raised funds for the trip by selling land that belonged to her parents. The idea of coming to India via Nepal came to her from a YouTube video. Enters India, arrested by police  As per News18, Haider entered India illegally on 13 May. Haider and Meena were then arrested after a lawyer they approached regarding getting married alerted the police. “I was startled when I found that she and her children were carrying Pakistani passports," the advocate told The Times of India. As per The Independent, Meena’s father was also detained by police for giving shelter to an illegal immigrant.

Meena’s father was also taken into custody for sheltering an illegal immigrant.

As per BBC, Haider and Meena were remanded to jail for 14 days. They were then later granted bail. Their landlord Girish Kumar told the BBC he never suspected anything untoward. He said Meena furnished the requisite documents and that his parents even came to visit. Kumar was quoted as saying by The Independent that it “did not seem like the woman was from Pakistan. She wore salwar suit and sarees”. Seema told AFP she has married Sachin, taken his name and converted to Hinduism. “I converted to Hinduism,” she said, sitting next to Sachin in the village of Rabupura, about 55 kilometres from New Delhi. Rather die than return “I’d rather die than return or leave Sachin”. News18 reported that Haider had also changed the name of her children. “I request the Indian government to grant me citizenship”, Seema pleaded, a red headscarf covering her hair and her four young children playing nearby. Meena, meanwhile, said his family have accepted Haider and her children.

Meena’s family only learned of her existence when he rented a nearby apartment with her.

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“There was some resistance, but my father and everyone accepted us. They are happy for us,” said Meena. “I will do everything for them.” Meena has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to intervene on Haider’s behalf, as per News18. The Independent quoted Hemant Krishna Parashar, a lawyer representing the couple, as saying the couple married in Kathmandu in March. “Seema told me in writing that she and Sachin had got married in Kathmandu, Nepal. I informed the court about this. I also argued that Seema first went from Pakistan to Nepal and then came to India. Those coming from Nepal to India are not required to carry a passport or have a visa,” Parashar said. But Indian police insist that it is impossible for Seema to remain in India long-term. ‘Destined’ The love-struck couple say their passion trumps national rivalries or fear of religious backlash.Apostasy is considered punishable by death in some interpretations of Islam. Haider said she had already received online threats and insisted the couple would “live and die together”. Apostasy is considered punishable by death in some interpretations of Islam. Seema’s proclamation of “undying love” for Sachin and a promise to only return to Pakistan “as a dead woman” when they featured on a raucous Indian TV debate this week drew cheers from the crowds sitting around them. Seema said she had been first attracted by Sachin’s gaming skills. She became sure about leaving her “abusive” Pakistani husband – charges he denies – after the first meeting. “It was very difficult to travel from Pakistan to India,” she said. “I believe that with God’s love, we were destined to meet”. ‘Still my family’ Seema’s estranged husband, Ghulam Haider, left his job as a labourer and rickshaw driver to earn more money for his family in Saudi Arabia. Haider, who said he had not heard of PUBG, wants his family back. “I earnestly appeal to Indian and Pakistani authorities to bring my wife and children back to me,” Ghulam Haider told AFP by phone from Saudi Arabia.

According to BBC, Ghulam has accused Haider of selling their home in Pakistan and taking all the jewellery.

Haider said the couple, from different Baloch tribes, have a defiant love story of their own. Forbidden by their families from marrying, they ran away to get hitched – a taboo in Pakistan that can sometimes lead to so-called honour killings. “Later, a jirga (council of elders) was summoned to settle the matter and a fine of one million rupees (around $3,640) was slapped on me,” he said. “I am far from my home, from my family, and it is very agonising for me because we married out of love.” ‘She is an adult’ The couple have received a popular welcome in India. Crowds from nearby villages have been visiting them since their arrest grabbed national headlines. “We took selfies,” said Rakesh Chand, 37, who drove over an hour to offer his congratulations, one of the dozens lining up to greet them. “Sachin is very happy, even his family has accepted them, so the government must ensure that she isn’t forced to leave.” But on the streets near her old home in Pakistan, Dhani Bakhsh village in eastern Karachi, the news has not been welcomed. While people know about Seema’s story, few are willing to talk about the incident openly – though they gossip in small groups on street corners. “Let’s forget about her, as she has gone and she is an adult,” said Haider’s cousin Zafarullah Bugti, blaming PUBG for turning Seema into “a psycho”. Meena herself is unrepentant, calling Sachin the “love of her life” and insisting she will dedicate herself to her family. “My children will get all the love, care and attention here,” she said. With inputs from agencies