Peshawar: Anju, the Indian mother of two children who travelled legally to Pakistan, went on a sightseeing trip with her Facebook friend amid tight security in the scenic Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said Tuesday.
Anju, 34, is staying at his 29-year-old Pakistani friend Nasrullah’s home. They became friends on Facebook in 2019.
According to media reports and a senior police official, their friendship blossomed into a love affair, which prompted Anju to travel to Pakistan.
However, Nasrullah has dismissed such reports, saying his friend will return to India August 20 after her visa expires and they have no plan to get married.
Both went on a sightseeing trip amid tight security Monday. They visited the Lawari tunnel connecting Dir Upper District with Chitral District, police officials said.
In the pictures of their visit to the picturesque tourist spots, Anju and Nasrullah were seen sitting in a lush green garden and holding hands.
The district police and local administration have been reluctant to divulge any further details about them.
Anju, who was born in Kailor village in Uttar Pradesh and lived in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, has shared a short video in which she says she “feels safe here” in Pakistan, Geo News reported Tuesday.
“I want to give this message to all that I have come here legally and with planning as it was not about two days that I came here all of a sudden, and I am safe here,” she said in the video.
“I request all the media persons not to harass my relatives and children,” she said. Anju is married to Arvind, who is in Rajasthan. They have a 15-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.
Anju has travelled to Pakistan legally from India via the Wagah-Attari border.
According to an official document of the Ministry of Interior sent to Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi, the chancery was informed that it had been decided to grant a 30-day visa to Anju, valid for Upper Dir only.
Nasrullah, a science graduate from a University in Sheringal, is the youngest among five brothers.
He has given an affidavit to local authorities, stating that there is no love angle to their friendship, and Anju will return to India August 20.
According to a senior police official from the region, the travel documents of the Indian lady have been found to be in order and she has been allowed to stay with Nasrullah, who has been instructed to look after her.
“She travelled to Pakistan on a month-long visit visa and all her travel documents are valid and complete,” Upper Dir District Police Officer (DPO) Mushtaq Khan said Monday.
“Anju has come to Pakistan from New Delhi for the sake of love and is living happily here,” Khan was quoted as saying by Geo News.
Anju’s husband Arvind told the media in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan that she left home Thursday on the pretext of going to Jaipur but later the family came to know that she was in Pakistan.
He said he was hopeful that she would return home.
Anju’s incident is similar to Seema Ghulam Haider’s case. Seema, a Pakistani mother of four, sneaked into India to live with Sachin Meena, a Hindu man she got in touch with while playing PUBG in 2019.
Seema, 30, and Sachin, 22, live in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida, near Delhi, where he runs a provision store, according to Uttar Pradesh Police.
PTI