Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj came to the aid of an Indian woman facing domestic violence in Pakistan.
Swaraj directed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to renew the passport of an Indian woman married to a Pakistani man and facilitate her return.
According to reports, Mohammadia Begum, who hails from Telangana in India, was married to a Pakistani and was living with him in Sialkot. However, she recently informed her parents that she wished to return to India as she was suffering from physical abuse by her husband and in-laws.
In a series of tweets, Swaraj claimed that she received a message on YouTube from Mohammad Akbar, stating that his daughter an Indian national was married in Pakistan and was being ill-treated by her in-laws.
I received a Youtube message from Shri Mohammad Akbar that his daughter Mohammadia Begum an, Indian national was married in Pakistan
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 20, 2017
and was being ill-treated by her inlaws Our mission sent a Note Verbale requesting the safety, security and well-being of Mohammadia Begum.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 20, 2017
The external affairs minister further added that upon meeting Indian High Commission officials, Begum expressed the desire to return.
Following Swaraj’s tweets, Amjed Ullah Khan, a spokesperson for Majlis Bachao Tehreek an organisation in the Indian state of Telangana, posted a video on YouTube in which the victim’s mother claimed that she spoke to Begum on the phone, who told her about her suffering in Pakistan.
Khan added that Begum’s husband married her by claiming that he was an Omani national and has kept her in captivity in Pakistan for 15 years