Pakistani woman returns home after spending four years in Indian prison

Pakistani woman Sameera Abdul Rahman (3rd from R) stands with Indian officials upon her release from Indian jail on March 27, 2022. (Photo courtesy: local media)
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Updated 27 March 2022
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Pakistani woman returns home after spending four years in Indian prison

  • Sameera Abdul Rahman married an Indian national in Qatar before traveling to India without a visa
  • Rahman gave birth to a daughter in prison who also accompanied her mother to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani woman who spent four years in an Indian prison after traveling to that country without a visa has returned to her homeland after getting assistance from Pakistani authorities, reported the local media on Sunday.

Karachi-born Sameera Abdul Rahman was living in Qatar where she met an Indian man whom she married against the wishes of her family. Her husband brought her to India without a visa in 2016, for which both of them were imprisoned.

Rahman also gave birth to a daughter in prison in 2017 who also accompanied her mother to Pakistan.

Last month, the Pakistani interior ministry said it had issued a citizenship certificate to her after the country's diplomatic mission in India held a meeting with her to confirm her nationality.

"Indian authorities handed over Sameera Rahman and her daughter Sana Fatima to Pakistani authorities at the Wagha border," The News reported, adding she was accompanied by officials of the Pakistan High Commission.

The newspaper said it would take another four days for her to fulfil "all the legal requirements and to complete immigration processes."

Rahman was released from Indian jail and kept in a custodial center after she paid a fine of million rupees to the Indian authorities.

A Pakistani senator, Irfran Siddiqui, who was following her case and first took it up in parliament, told the newspaper that no one from the woman's family was there to receive her at the Wagha border.


Pakistan, Afghanistan border clashes kill 5, officials say

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Pakistan, Afghanistan border clashes kill 5, officials say

  • Afghanistan and Pakistan trade blame for “unprovoked firing” along Chaman-Spin Boldak border
  • Exchange takes place nearly a week after a fresh round of peace talks between neighbors failed

KABUL: Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their border late on Friday, officials from both countries said, killing at least five people amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks last weekend.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces launched attacks in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province.

His deputy Hamdullah Fitra told Reuters that shelling by Pakistan killed five people, including a Taliban member.

A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister said Afghan forces carried out “unprovoked firing” along the Chaman border.

“Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of our citizens,” spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi said in a statement.

The exchange came nearly a week after a new round of peace talks between the South Asian neighbors ended without a breakthrough, although both sides agreed to continue their fragile ceasefire.

The talks in Saudi Arabia last weekend were the latest in a series of meetings hosted by Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia to cool tensions following deadly border clashes in October.

At the heart of the dispute, Islamabad says Afghan-based militants have carried out recent attacks in Pakistan, including suicide bombings involving Afghan nationals. Kabul denied the charge, saying it could not be held responsible for security inside Pakistan.

Dozens were killed in October’s clashes, the worst violence on the border since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021.