ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday allowed Indian national Dr Uzma Ahmed to go back to her country and declined her husband’s request to meet her.

The court gave Dr Ahmed permission to go back after obtaining her immigration sheets from her alleged Pakistani husband, Tahir Ali and handed her travel documents to her. IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani directed the interior ministry to provide Dr Ahmed with security till the Wagah Border.

During the hearing of the case, Dr Ahmed’s alleged husband requested the court to allow him to meet with her for some time as he wanted to clear some misunderstandings. The court asked Dr Ahmed if she wanted to meet with Tahir Ali and when she refused, the IHC bench observed that the court cannot force two people to live together.

Dr Ahmed also fell unconscious during the hearing but an IHC medical team said she was alright after conducting a medical examination.

Indian First Secretary, Piyush Singh, who was caught taking pictures of the courtroom during the previous hearing, this time submitted expired identification documents when entering the IHC and security officials barred him from entering till he had submitted valid documents.

Uzma Ahmed was accompanied inside the courtroom by officials of the Indian High Commission including Mr Singh and staff members Virender Gautam and Anil Kumar Dagur.

In her petition, Uzma had requested to be allowed to travel back to India and to provide her with duplicate immigration sheets, claiming the originals were taken from her by Tahir Ali. She was seeking repatriation also on the grounds that her daughter from an earlier marriage was a thalassaemia patient and she needed to see her.

Both Uzma and Tahir had filed petitions in the IHC the common fact in both was that they had met in Malaysia. According to Tahir, they had agreed to get married.

Uzma came to Pakistan last month on a visa sponsored by Tahir Ali’s father.

According to Tahir Ali, he took her to his native Buner where they married with her consent and in the presence of witnesses. The nikah was registered in the district courts of Dagar and Buner.

Uzma, on the other hand, has said Tahir kidnapped her and forcibly took her to his village where he obtained her signatures on the nikahnama. She has also alleged she was beaten, tortured and subjected to sexual assault. She took asylum at the Indian High Commission on May 5 which then filed a petition on her behalf.

Tahir, on the other hand, is insisting Uzma is his lawfully wedded wife and that Indian officials were stopping him from meeting her.

The IHC, however, allowed Uzma to go back to India and will issue a detailed judgement on the case later on.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2017