ISLAMABAD: An Indian woman facing litigation over her controversial marriage to a Pakistani man submitted her reply before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday and claimed that her alleged husband’s petition was a “bundle of lies”.

Uzma Ahmed filed her reply to a petition filed by her husband Tahir Ali Khan.

In her reply, Ms Ahmed explained that Mr Khan had “terribly beaten [her]… tortured [her] physically and mentally and forced [her] to sign the nikahnama”.

Her counsel Shahnawaz Noon stated that Mr Khan was not a law-abiding citizen. He said that Ms Ahmed never asked Mr Khan to come over to India and get married nor had she “agreed to [the] proposal of the petitioner”.

The counsel alleged that Ms Ahmed was given death threats, harassed and humiliated by Mr Khan and “forced to sign the nikahnama”.

He said that Ms Ahmed had been given shelter and security by the High Commission of India till she returned home safely. He also denied that the high commission had pressurised Ms Ahmed in any way.

The alleged husband, however, requested the court to arrange a meeting with his wife in a “free atmosphere” claiming that Ms Ahmed was giving statements against him under duress.

On May 3, Ms Ahmed informed the magistrate that she had been deceived, tortured and forced to sign marriage documents at gunpoint. She said that she had taken refuge at the high commission because she wanted to go back to New Delhi.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2017