New Delhi: Indian woman Uzma Ahmad, who was forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint, returned home on May 25 and thanked External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for helping her reunite with her family.
“I never knew my life would have so much value. I am an orphan. Sushma ma’am said being an Indian means you should be proud. I used to get calls from her daily. She said she was trying to do all she can to get you back. This encouraged me to think that Sushma ma’am and Center is doing so much for me,” said Uzma.
Uzma Ahmad, who is in her early 20s and hails from New Delhi, was allowed by the Islamabad High Court on May 24 to return home after she filed a plea with the court.
Uzma was provided security by the Pakistani police till the Wagah Border crossing, and she touched the ground after crossing into the Indian territory.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on May 25, Uzma recalled that she was tortured and threatened.
“I was told that my daughter would be harmed and to save my daughter, I agreed to marriage,” said Uzma.
Speaking of the ordeal she underwent in Pakistan’s Buner district, Uzma said, “Firing goes on everyday, where I stayed. People have 2 wives in every home.
“Perhaps I would not have been alive if had I been there for a few more days. They would have had sold me, killed me. There are women from all countries who are abused and harassed. There are many girls over there who are not able to escape.”
“It is easy to go to Pakistan, but difficult to get out of that country, it is a well of death. India is far better, there is freedom. I will always discourage people from going to Pakistan. Even men are not safe in Pakistan,” said Uzma.
“I am proud to be India’s daughter. I have seen so many countries, but there is no country like India. India is so much better off in so many aspects. I’d also like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Uzma added.
Sushma Swaraj said it is quite a big deal for us that when a woman is trapped in a foreign land, the Indian High Commission is a ray of hope.
“I feel proud of an officer like JP Singh. There was no one to advise him. But he did all he could for her. He said the moment she said she is an Indian, all other questions became redundant. He has really lived up to one of our slogans: In a foreign land, the Indian embassy is your friend.”
Sushma also thanked the foreign ministry and the home ministry of Pakistan. “If Uzma is with us today, they have a role too. I also want to thank the lawyer who fought the case for us. The Pakistani judge was told this case was a matter of ‘Pakistan’s prestige’. He asked how is it about India and Pakistan?
“When I saw Uzma kiss the Indian ground at Wagah border, that picture speaks a thousand words itself. That gesture alone won the hearts of all Indians.”
On May 24, the Islamabad high court had allowed Uzma to return home and even handed over her original immigration papers, which her husband Tahir Ali had submitted to the court. Uzma is believed to have met and fallen in love with Tahir in Malaysia.
Uzma arrived in Pakistan on May 1 and traveled to the remote Buner district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where she was married to Ali on May 3. She has said she was forced to marry him at gunpoint.
Later she came to Islamabad and took refuge in the Indian High Commission.
Uzma’s brother said the Indian government had done more than expected for her, and that the embassy treated her with care, said ANI.
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