Indian woman claims she was duped, forced to marry Pakistani at gunpoint

Uzma says she came to know that Tahir was already married and had children

ISLAMABAD: An Indian woman who came to Pakistan and allegedly married a man in Buner on May 3 told a magistrate on Monday that she was deceived, tortured and forced to sign marriage documents at gunpoint.

Uzma, 20, appeared before Judicial Magistrate Sayyed Haider Shah and told him that she was currently living at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad of her own free will, contrary to her husband Tahir Khan's claim that she was being forcibly kept there.

In her statement, Uzma said she had met Khan in Malaysia where he worked. “He was a soft-spoken and nice person and spoke with me in English. I thought he was from a good family,” she added.



When Uzma returned to India, Khan suggested that she should visit Pakistan and meet his family. She obtained a visa and came to Pakistan on May 1.

“I was picked up [at Wagah border] by Tahir in a car. After travelling some distance, he told me that he lived in a mountainous area and gave me a medicine. After I took the medicine, I fell unconscious,” Uzma said in her statement.

She woke up at 10pm and found herself outside the door of Khan’s house in Buner. “It was a strange village. Tahir's family didn't understand Hindi. I didn't know what was going on," she said.

Uzma, who is a doctor and belongs to New Delhi, also accused Khan of threatening, torturing and sexually assaulting her. “These people also carried guns," she told the court.

"The next day they took me to a dirty and strange house and made me sign a Nikahnama at gunpoint. They forced me to marry for which I was not mentally ready."



Uzma also claimed that after the forced marriage, Khan’s family abused her, beat her up and made her do the household work.

“Every evening Tahir would sexually assault and torture me. These people spoke different languages and I wouldn't understand what they were saying,” she claimed.

She also came to know that Khan was already married and had children when she heard them calling him 'Abbu'.

Uzma told the judge that she had taken refuge at the high commission because she felt threatened and wanted to go back to New Delhi. “If I go with Tahir to his village, only my lifeless body will come back. I don't want to go outside the high commission until my return to my home in New Delhi is arranged,” she maintained.

The case has been adjourned until July 11, a date fixed on the request of Uzma’s counsel.



However, Khan told reporters that he and Uzma had agreed to marry after they met in Malaysia in 2016.

He said that after their marriage, Uzma’s brother had called her up and asked the couple to come to India so that they could celebrate their wedding there too.

"That's why we had visited the high commission on May 5," he added.

A police officer told The Express Tribune that there was no restriction on Uzma travelling back to India after her statement before the judge.