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Indian mum’s bid to see daughter left in Pak fails

With her husband Abdul Aziz allegedly spurning her request for arranging a visa to see her child again, Parveen Sultan is leading a life in UAE, anxious for the child, Azra, fearing that she might never see her again.

“It’s been seven long months since I saw my child. I wish to go to Pakistan but cannot do so because I am an Indian national and I need a visa, which I cannot get till my husband wishes so,” says the troubled mother.

Eight months ago, a pregnant Parveen had followed her husband to Pakistan after he left UAE apparently without informing her.

“Ours was a love marriage,” she says. “I met him four years ago in Dubai, but my family did not approve of the match because he is a Pakistani and, therefore, sent me back home to India,” she says.

“Despite the restrictions, our love blossomed and we got married over the phone and I came to Dubai as his wife.” They lived a couple of years together and she got pregnant before Aziz disappeared abruptly, she said.

“I was pregnant and alone in this country and had nowhere to turn to. So I decided to follow him to his village in Balgam, Kashmir. I somehow got a two-month visa and reached my husband’s home where every one welcomed me except my husband who, upon seeing me, flew back to the UAE,” she explains.

“I later found out that I was his third wife and he already had children. I delivered a baby girl at the place of my in-laws and because my visa was expiring and I could not bring back the baby with me to the UAE, I had no option but leave my five-day-old Azra with her grandparents,” she said.

Parveen said that she later rejoined her husband and despite their daily quarrels over the child, she has not seen her baby since then.

“We cannot sponsor our child and bring her here, but at least I can go and see her in Pakistan. For this, my husband has to furnish a sponsor’s letter to the Pakistani Consulate so that they can issue me a visa, but he refuses to do so,” she says.

“I have bought many dresses and toys for her but I can only imagine how she would look in them because I have never even seen her picture,” she says with tears welling up in her eyes.

“I also fear that if I insist too much, my husband might divorce me and I might never ever have the chance to see my daughter,” she adds. “I do not know what to do.”

Aziz showed no desire to talk to the media.

• UAE