It culminated in a rare show of bilateral love between the neighbouring countries, at a time when ties are currently strained
On Thursday, when the sight of Indian soil across the Wagah border was finally on her horizon, Uzma Ahmed heaved a sigh of relief. Taken away to Pakistan by a taxi driver she met on a trip to Malaysia last month after she fell in love with him, Uzma faced torture and sexual assault while being held captive at gunpoint in Buner, a remote location in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, her plight was closely followed by people on either side of the border. It culminated in a rare show of bilateral love between the neighbouring countries, at a time when ties are currently strained.
Once inside India, where she was united with her four-year-old daughter who is battling thalassemia and the family who adopted Uzma when she was a child, the young woman fought back tears to profusely thank External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Indian officers who stood by her side.
“I am an orphan, and for the first time, I realised that my life carries so much value,” Uzma told reporters. She said that when she was taken to Pakistan on May 1 by Tahir Ali, she had no idea the nightmare she was to endure.
While held captive, Uzma said that she was beaten, sexually assaulted, and made to sign a nikahnama on May 3. She got to know that Tahir was already married once she reached there. She also alleged torture in the hands of her in-laws, and called Pakistan a “maut ka kuan” (well of death).
Uzma thanked Swaraj profusely, and said that the minister called her everyday assuring her of a safe return. “I must thank her instead because she trusted the Indian High Commission, and was brave enough to lead Tahir there. She told the Indian officials that she will kill herself if she was turned away,” said Swaraj.
Swaraj also thanked Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, who directed her release on humanitarian grounds. “Despite the strained ties, Justice Kayani did not pay heed to Tahir’s appeals for upholding the ‘prestige of Pakistan’ and let her come,” said Swaraj, while applauding diplomat JP Singh for the sensitive handling of the case.
“I cannot thank the Indian officials enough for ensuring Uzma’s safety,” Uzma’s brother, Wasim Ahmed, told DNA.
WORD OF GRATITUDE
- Uzma profusely thanked Sushma Swaraj, and said that the minister called her everyday assuring her of a safe return.
- Swaraj also thanked Pak judge Mohsin Kayani who directed Uzma’s release on humanitarian grounds
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 "Uzma Ahmed")
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