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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
