Indian woman Anju marries Pakistani Facebook friend, adopts new name

Anju, the Indian mother of two children who travelled to a remote village in Pakistan, married her Facebook friend on Tuesday after converting to Islam and now has a new name Fatima.

The 34-year-old Indian woman was staying at her 29-year-old Pakistani friend Nasrullah's home in the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They became friends on Facebook in 2019.

They tied the knot in a local court of a district and sessions judge amid tight security.

"Nasrullah and Anju's marriage was solemnised today and a proper nikkah was performed after she converted to Islam," senior officer at Moharrar City Police Station in Upper Dir district Muhammad Wahab told PTI.

According to police, both appeared in the court in Upper Dir in the presence of family members of Nasrullah, police personnel and lawyers.

Malakand Division Deputy Inspector General Nasir Mehmood Satti confirmed the nikkah and said Indian woman Anju has been named Fatima after her conversion to Islam.

He further stated that the Indian woman has been shifted to home from the court under police security, Geo News reported.

They recorded the statement, saying they have signed the nikkah on their own will. The Indian woman told the court that she has willingly come to Pakistan and is very happy here, it said.

Earlier on Monday, both went on a sightseeing trip amid tight security. They visited the Lawari tunnel connecting Dir Upper District with Chitral District, police officials said.

In the pictures of their visit to the picturesque tourist spots, Anju and Nasrullah were seen sitting in a lush green garden and holding hands.

Anju, who was born in Kailor village in Uttar Pradesh and lived in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, shared a short video before her marriage in which she says she "feels safe" in Pakistan, Geo News reported on Tuesday.

"I want to give this message to all that I have come here legally and with planning as it was not about two days that I came here all of a sudden, and I am safe here," she said in the video.

"I request all the media persons not to harass my relatives and children," she said. Anju is married to Arvind, who is in Rajasthan. They have a 15-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.

Anju travelled to Pakistan legally from India via the Wagah-Attari border.

According to an official document of the Ministry of Interior sent to Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi, the chancery was informed that it had been decided to grant a 30-day visa to Anju, valid for Upper Dir only.

Nasrullah, a science graduate from a University in Sheringal, is the youngest among five brothers.

He has given an affidavit to local authorities, stating that there is no love angle to their friendship, and Anju will return to India on August 20.

According to a senior police official from the region, the travel documents of the Indian lady have been found to be in order and she has been allowed to stay with Nasrullah, who has been instructed to look after her.

"She travelled to Pakistan on a month-long visit visa and all her travel documents are valid and complete," Upper Dir District Police Officer (DPO) Mushtaq Khan said on Monday.

"Anju has come to Pakistan from New Delhi for the sake of love and is living happily here," Khan was quoted as saying by Geo News.

Anju's husband Arvind told the media in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan that she left home on Thursday on the pretext of going to Jaipur but later the family came to know that she was in Pakistan.

He said he was hopeful that she would return home.

Anju's incident is similar to Seema Ghulam Haider's case. Seema, a Pakistani mother of four, sneaked into India to live with Sachin Meena, a Hindu man she got in touch with while playing PUBG in 2019.

Seema, 30, and Sachin, 22, live in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida, near Delhi, where he runs a provision store, according to Uttar Pradesh Police.