Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria on Sunday said that an Indian woman ─ married to a Pakistani man ─ who 'went missing' from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad last week is 'stranded' inside the building.
Uzma, an Indian national, met Tahir Ali, a resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the latter was working as a taxi driver in Malaysia eight months ago, according to a request for help lodged at Islamabad's Secretariat Police Station by Ali.
The two contracted a court marriage on May 3 in Buner, two days after Uzma arrived in Pakistan via the Wagah border.
After the couple tied the knot, Uzma called her brother in New Delhi to relay the news to him. Her brother asked her to visit India on her honeymoon and told her she could find a man named Adnan at the Indian embassy who would be able to sort out their visas for the trip, Ali alleged.
In his request, Ali claimed, "At the Indian embassy window, she asked about Adnan. A while later, a man came out and took her inside through gate number six. I waited and waited, and then at 7pm I asked at the embassy gate if my wife Uzma was inside. They told me no one was inside."
He added that he then returned to the main gate on a shuttle bus, and noted that none of the three phones surrendered to the embassy by the couple at the time of entrance were returned to him, and his wife also remained missing.
The man asked the police to help him resolve the matter.
The FO said the Indian High Commission confirmed to police and the media that the woman is present inside the building but would only be let go after the matter is discussed with the FO.
Secretariat Police Station House Officer Hakim Khan confirmed he had contacted the diplomatic mission, but officials denied speaking to police, saying they would only speak to the FO.
The Foreign Office later said that it was in contact with the Indian High Commission, and the issue would be resolved soon.
"The Indian High Commission informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that an Indian national, Uzma, 20, had approached them with the request to be repatriated to India,” it said.
According to the Indian High Commission, she claimed to have married Tahir and alleged that she later came to know that he was already married and had four children, the FO said in a statement.
