The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday gave permission to Uzma, an Indian national, to return to her home country.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani was hearing petitions filed by Uzma and her husband, Tahir Ali. While the former had requested to be repatriated to India, Ali had asked to be allowed to meet his wife.

The court assured Uzma that she was free to return to India at any point and would be escorted to the Wagah Border with police security.

During the hearing, Justice Mohsin Akhtar asked Uzma if she wished to speak to her husband but she refused.

The events leading up to Uzma's disappearance

Uzma, 22, 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.

"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 was inside. They told me no one was inside," Ali claimed.

He had 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.

It emerged later that she had sought refuge in the Indian High Commission and requested to be repatriated back to India.

Uzma told a lower court that Ali had forced her to enter a Nikkah contract at gunpoint and subsequently subjected her to physical and sexual abuse. He also confiscated her documents, she claimed.

Opinion

Political capitalism

Political capitalism

Pakistani decision-makers salivate at the prospect of a one-party state but without paying attention to those additional ingredients.

Editorial

Spending restrictions
Updated 13 May, 2024

Spending restrictions

The country's "recovery" in recent months remains fragile and any shock at this point can mean a relapse.
Climate authority
13 May, 2024

Climate authority

WITH the authorities dragging their feet for seven years on the establishment of a Climate Change Authority and...
Vending organs
13 May, 2024

Vending organs

IN these cash-strapped times, black marketers in the organ trade are returning to rake it in by harvesting the ...
A turbulent 2023
Updated 12 May, 2024

A turbulent 2023

Govt must ensure judiciary's independence, respect for democratic processes, and protection for all citizens against abuse of power.
A moral victory
12 May, 2024

A moral victory

AS the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted on Friday in favour of granting Palestine greater rights at the...
Hope after defeat
12 May, 2024

Hope after defeat

ON Saturday, having fallen behind Japan in the first quarter of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final, Pakistan showed...