Indian woman's forced marriage to Pakistan man: Islamabad court adjourns hearing of case

Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a petition by a Pakistani man seeking an order barring his Indian wife from leaving the country before the settlement of their legal issues. Tahir Ali had moved the court last week against 20-year-old Uzma, an Indian national who had travelled to Pakistan earlier in May. Tahir filed a petition on Friday, asking the court to arrange a meeting with Uzma and also stop her from going back to India. [caption id=“attachment_3446820” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The court accepted the petition and set the hearing date on Monday. “Nothing happened on Monday and the court set the new date for hearing,” Tahir said, adding that the court fixed the hearing on 22 May. The court will also hear the petition of Uzma, who moved it a day after her husband. Uzma, who ho has sought refuge at the Indian mission in Islamabad, petitioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on 12 May to provide security for her journey back to Delhi and to issue duplicate travel documents which were allegedly stolen by her Tahir. Uzma’s lawyer, Malik Shah Nawaz Noon and First Secretary to the Indian High Commission Piyush Singh filed the petition on her behalf in the IHC stating that her husband had deceived her as he was already married, and that he stole her passport and other travel documents. She also asked the court to exempt her from police reporting. She has alleged that she was sexually abused after her forced marriage to the Pakistani man at gunpoint. In her statement, recorded before a magistrate, Uzma has said that she came to Pakistan to see her relatives and not to marry Tahir. She has said she did not know Ali was already married and had four children. However, Tahir said she knew about his marriage and children. He said he had told her about his family and that he lived in mountains away from the main cities. Uzma had reached Pakistan on 1 May and travelled to Buner district in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to marry Ali on 3 May. The couple reportedly met in Malaysia, where Tahir worked as a taxi-driver. The case has attracted attention on both sides of the border.