Pak woman Seema Haider's first husband seeks Indian govt's help to reunite with children
Karachi: The first husband of Seema Haider, a Pakistani woman who illegally crossed over to India with her four children in 2023 to be with her lover whom she had met online, has appealed to the Indian government to help him meet his kids and gain custody.
Seema, 32, who is from Jacobabad in Sindh province, in May 2023 took her children and left her home in Karachi to travel to India via Nepal. She captured the headlines in July when Indian authorities found her living with Indian national Sachin Meena, 27, whom she now claims to have married, in the Greater Noida area in Uttar Pradesh. The duo got in touch in 2019 while playing online game PUBG.
Seema and Sachin were arrested in July 2023 but later released on bail. While Seema was charged with illegally entering India, Sachin was booked for sheltering the illegal immigrant.
Seema's first husband Ghulam Haider in a recent video message appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for "justice".
Haider claimed he has been trying to gain custody of his children since late 2023, with the help of prominent Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist Ansar Burney. In February last year, Burney confirmed Haider had approached him for help and hired an Indian lawyer to initiate legal proceedings in Indian courts.
“After due process, we have hired an Indian lawyer, Ali Momin, and have sent the power of attorney to start legal proceedings in Indian courts,” he had said.
However, it's unclear if the case has been initiated.
Haider in the video message claimed, “It has been a year since the case is pending in court and I have not seen my children since 2023."
"I appeal to the Indian minister, S Jaishankar, to give me justice,” he said. Haider alleged that his children are stuck in India because of their mother.
"She is trying to change their names and religion forcibly," he claimed.
Haider was working in Saudi Arabia when Seema ran away to India via the UAE and Nepal. All her four children were below the age of 7 years in May 2023.
In an earlier interview with BBC, Seema had said that she had adopted Hinduism and refused to return to Pakistan. Seema claims her children have also converted to Hinduism.
In a recent Instagram post, Seema said she is expecting a child with Sachin.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
