Uzma , who said she was forcibly kept in Pakistan by a man she met in Malaysia finally returned to India on Thursday.
Indian woman Uzma Naheed, who said she was forcibly kept in Pakistan by a man she met in Malaysia finally returned to India on Thursday. Speaking to reporters in the presence of union minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj, MEA spokesperson Gopal B, and Indian High Commission diplomat JP Singh, Uzma said that it was a big day for her.
"I can only say that I'm back from Pakistan and when I saw the Indian soil, I was overjoyed," said Uzma, fighting tears. Praising Swaraj for her motherly attitude, Uzma said that the minister called her daily and assured her that she will be safe. "She would tell me that in India efforts are on ensure my safe passage. She assured me that if needed the Indian High Commission will keep me with them for a few years," said Uzma. Swaraj thanked Uzma in return for trusting the High Commission with her life.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj thanked Pakistani establishment, judiciary for helping Uzma return to India on humanitarian grounds. Describing Uzma as "India's daughter", Swaraj welcomed her to India. "I am sorry for all that you have gone through," she tweeted.
Uzma, who is in her early 20s, hails from New Delhi. She was allowed by the Islamabad High Court to return to India following a plea she filed with the court requesting its directive after her husband Tahir Ali took her immigration papers.
Accompanied by Indian mission officials and escorted by Pakistani police personnel, she crossed into India through the Wagah Border crossing near Amritsar.
"The Indian woman was happy and excited to leave for her homeland," a Pakistan Rangers official told PTI.
Media was not allowed to interact with Uzma.
She touched the ground after she entered the Indian territory.
Yesterday, the high court handed over her original immigration documents after Tahir submitted them to the court a day earlier.
Uzma had petitioned the court on May 12 requesting it to allow her to return home urgently as her daughter from her first marriage in India suffered from thalassemia - a blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin production.
Tahir had petitioned the court, requesting that he be allowed to meet "his wife". A single bench of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani heard both the pleas and after hearing their arguments, he allowed Uzma to return to India.
She has said she was forced to marry Tahir at gunpoint. The two reportedly met in Malaysia and fell in love.
Uzma reached Pakistan on May 1 and travelled to the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Tahir on May 3.
Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian High Commission.
According to the law in Pakistan, her lawyer can continue to represent her in the case she has filed in the high court and she can return to pursue the case.
With inputs from PTI
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