Indian woman Anju Thomas, who travelled to Pakistan to marry her social media friend in July, returned to India through Wagah Border. Anju, who has children in India from her previous huband, was accompanied by her Pakistani husband Nasullah accompanied her to the Wagah Border.
Spotted at the airport, Anju told news agency ANI, "I am happy...I have no other comments".
Nasrullah reportedly said that Anju said that she was in India to meet her children. Anju, who had travelled to Pakistan in July with a visa, converted to Islam from Christianity and changed her name to Fatima after getting married to Nasrullah, who she met on Facebook four years ago. Anju's Indian husband Arvind had said that she left home on the pretext of going to Jaipur but later the family came to know that she was in Pakistan.
Pakistan had granted one year visa extension to Anju
Initially, Nasrullah indicated that Anju would come back to India on August 20, coinciding with the expiration of her visa. However, just a day later, reports emerged suggesting that they had tied the knot. Subsequently, in August, Pakistan granted Anju a one-year visa extension.
By September, Nasrullah, Anju's husband, expressed concern about her mental well-being, noting that she was "mentally disturbed and badly missing" her children. He conveyed to PTI that Anju would be returning to India the following month, stating, "Fatima (Anju) is returning to India next month. She is mentally disturbed and badly missing her children, and she had no other option except to go back."
In a conversation with PTI via phone, Nasrullah emphasised his desire to prevent any further decline in Anju's mental health, stating, "It is better for her to proceed to her country to meet her children." He added that after completing the necessary documentation process in Pakistan, she would return to India.
Anju's journey
In July this year, married Indian woman Anju travelled legally to a remote village in Pakistan to meet her Facebook friend will and said will return within a month when her Visa expires.
Earlier, 29-year-old Nasrullah, Anju's Pakistani friend, said he had no plan of marrying 34-year-old Anju, who was born in Kailor village in Uttar Pradesh and lived in the Alwar district of Rajasthan.
However, just a day after, Anju reportedly converted to Islam and married Nasrullah.
The couple tied the knot in a local court of a district and sessions judge.
"Nasrullah and Anju's marriage was solemnised today and proper a Nikah was performed after she converted to Islam," senior officer at Moharrar City Police Station in Upper Dir district Muhammad Wahab had told PTI.
Though Anju tried to contain the media frenzy over her daring act as 'rumour' in a video call with her father, it eventually became evident that she had married her Facebook friend Nasrullah.
Meanwhile, embarrassed by the his daughter's act and subsequent media attention, Anju's father threatened to kill himself. After reports of Anju converting to Islam and marrying her Pakistani friend, her father said that she was dead for him as she left home. He also said that he will not appeal to the Indian government to bring her back and ‘let her die there’.
Thereafter, several videos of Anju receiving generous gifts after her wedding with Nasrullah surfaced on social media. Anju received several gifts from the locals, Nasrullah's relatives and acquaintances.
Mohsin Khan Abbasi, the CEO of Pak Star Group companies, reportedly visited Anju at her residence to extend congratulations on her marriage. He presented her with a cheque of Rs 50,000, a housing plot, and other valuable gifts.
Later, Anju had called her husband in India, Arvind Meena, and said that she will take her two children to the neighbouring country as well. In September, Nasrullah said that Anju was expected to return to India next month as she was "mentally disturbed and badly missing" her two children.
Finally, she's set to return to India to meet her children now. It would be hard to tell if there would an another drama over the custody of the children in an already intriguing story.
