Sri Ganganagar: The short, unsolicited visit of a 32-year-old Pakistani woman to India ended on Tuesday, after she was handed over to the Pakistani Rangers by the Border Security Force (BSF).
The woman, identified as Humaira, was questioned by a Joint Interrogation Committee (JIC), comprising officials of central and state agencies, for nearly five days before a decision was taken to repatriate her.
Around 6.30 am on March 17, Humaira had ignored warnings by the BSF and crossed the Indo-Pakistan Border in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. She was immediately taken into custody by the BSF.
She told interrogators that she is a Balochi and fears for her life in Pakistan. She spoke of domestic violence that she faces at home and sought asylum.
“From social media, I came to know that women are respected in India. Nobody listens to me back home, so I decided to cross the border. I had tried to do the same, once in the past, near Kashmir. But I was scared of being shot,” Humaira told the JIC.
She also claimed that she had scanned the internet to learn how to cross the border. She travelled to Bahawalpur from Karachi on March 16 and then walked to a shrine near the international border. She spent the night there and early on March 17, she crossed over into India, ignoring warnings by the BSF.
The JIC also came to know that Humaira’s parents live in Karachi. She is married to one Wasim, who owns a shop at the Dagri Khan village in Kech, Balochistan.
After being satisfied that the woman had no other motive to cross over into India, the JIC handed her back to the BSF for repatriation. The BSF arranged a flag meeting with the Pakistan Rangers at the Bijnor Border Outpost near Anupgarh in Sri Ganganagar. She was then handed over after proper documentation.
