Love conquers borders

Pakistani girl to finally marry Indian fiancé after 7-year visa battle

LAHORE:

Shahnila Javed, a Pakistani girl who got engaged to Indian young man Naman Luthra in 2016, is set to marry him next month in the city of Bathinda, in Indian Punjab. Naman Luthra is a lawyer by profession.

Shahnila Javed has been unable to marry Naman Luthra due to visa issues from the Indian side for the past seven years.

The Express Tribune learnt that Shahnila Javed and Naman Luthra love each other. After her engagement, Shahnila went to India once in 2018, but after that, her visa application for India was rejected multiple times. Naman Luthra told The Express Tribune that Shahnila is his relative. Shahnila's family came to India from Pakistan in 1947, including her grandfather. However, Shahnila's family remained in Pakistan and adopted the Christian religion. Despite this, both families remained in contact. In 2016, Shahnila got engaged, and she wanted to come to Pakistan with the wedding procession, but she was unable to get an Indian visa.

A few weeks ago, they appealed to the Indian prime minister to issue visas to Naman's fiancée and other family members so that they could get married with Shahnila. Finally, their visa application has been approved, and they will get married in Bathinda in April.

Naman said that he and Shahnila had met on social media, and later their families agreed to the marriage. He further stated that he had to postpone his wedding for seven years due to visa issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2023.