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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Mumbai/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Aug 13 (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has expressed displeasure over some civic bodies ordering the closure of slaughterhouses and shops selling meat on August 15, saying it was wrong to impose such a ban.
Such types of restrictions are generally imposed considering faith-related sensitivities on occasions like Ashadhi Ekadashi, Mahashivratri, Mahavir Jayanti etc, Pawar said, adding people eat vegetarian and non-vegetarian food in Maharashtra.
"It is wrong to impose such a ban. In major cities, people of different castes and religions reside. If it is an emotional issue, then people accept it (ban) for a day. But if you clamp such orders on Maharashtra Day, Independence Day and Republic Day, then it is difficult," Pawar told reporters on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation announced the closure of slaughterhouses, outlets and shops selling meat within city limits on two days - August 15 and 20 - in view of festivals.
It stated the closure was ordered on August 15 on the occasion of Gokul Ashtami, a Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, and August 20, which marks the beginning of 'Paryushan Parva'- a key festival of the Jain community characterised by fasting and prayers.
On these two days, there will be a ban on slaughtering animals and selling meat in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, the civic corporation stated, and warned of action for violation.
The order comes on the heels of the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) in Thane district near Mumbai directing the closure of meat shops on August 15.
There are reports that the Malegaon Municipal Corporation, too, issued such an order.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray has said the KDMC commissioner should be suspended because it is not their issue to decide on vegetarian or non-vegetarian food consumption.
"It is our decision what to eat and not to eat on Independence Day. We will definitely eat non-veg food. The commissioner should instead address the issue of potholes on streets," Thackeray said.
NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad has said he will consume non-veg food to protest against the ban by the KDMC.