NEW DELHI: An Indian woman who said she was forced to marry a Pakistani at gunpoint returned to India on Thursday after a court ordered her release.

Uzma Ahmad was reunited with her family at the Wagah border crossing near Amritsar before heading to New Delhi where she called on Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Ms Swaraj called Ms Ahmad “India’s daughter”.

“I want to thank the foreign ministry and the home ministry of Pakistan. If Uzma [Ahmed] is with us today, they have a role too,” Ms Swaraj told reporters in New Delhi in a rare display of amity between the foes.

Ms Ahmad, who is in her early 20s, met Pakistani Tahir Ali in Malaysia, according to Indian media. She told the Islamabad High Court that Mr Ali forced her to marry him at gunpoint on May 3 when she was visiting Pakistan.

She has made headlines in India since making her plea to the court on May 12 to be allowed to return.

Ms Ahmad had been staying at the Indian mission in Islamabad since making the accusation.

The high court ordered Mr Ali to return the woman’s immigration documents so she could leave.

The young woman fought back tears as she recalled Ms Swaraj ringing to assure her everything was being done to bring her home. “For the first time I felt as if my life too has a value,” she said after touching the minister’s feet, a traditional gesture of respect in India.

“I have been really lucky as there are many girls over there who are abused and harassed but they are not able to get out,” she added.

Speaking at a press conference, she added that if she had remained in Pakistan for a few days more, she “would have died”.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2017