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I am safe here, says Indian woman who travelled to Pakistan amid wedding buzz

In a video message, Anju said that she crossed the border legally and urged the media to refrain from bothering her family

A married Indian woman who travelled to Pakistan last week has released a video saying that she feels safe there amid reports that she had tied the knot with a man from her neighbouring country.

According to media reports on Tuesday, Anju married Nasrullah, a 29-year-old science graduate she first met online, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Upper Dir. The couple tied the knot in a local court of a district and sessions judge, a Geo News report said. ARY News reported that an official had confirmed the nikkah (marriage).

India's PTI news agency said the mother of two children, who crossed the borders legally on July 21, went on a sightseeing trip with Nasrullah amid tight security. Photographs of them in a garden surfaced online on Tuesday. Khaleej Times could not independently verify the authenticity of the photos.

Earlier in the day, media reports quoted 34-year-old Anju as saying in a video that she had planned her entry into Pakistan.

"I want to give this message to all that I have come here [Pakistan] legally and with planning as it was not about two days that I came here all of a sudden, and I am safe here," she said, according to Geo News. Anju also urged the media to refrain from bothering her family.

According to media reports and a senior police official, their friendship turned into a love affair, prompting Anju to travel to Pakistan on a one-month visa, the PTI report cited above said.

But Nasrullah has dismissed such reports, saying his friend will return to India on August 20 after her visa expires, and they have no plan to get married.

Anju, born in Uttar Pradesh's Kailor village, lived in the Alwar district in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan, where she worked as a data entry operator. She and her husband, Arvind Kumar, stayed in rented accommodation, reported The Economic Times. The couple has a 15-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.

Kumar told ANI news agency that his wife had informed him that she was visiting a friend. On Sunday night, he got a call from Anju, disclosing that she was in Pakistan. According to Indian police, a preliminary investigation revealed that Anju was "in touch with a Pakistan-based man for two to three years through Facebook and WhatsApp".

Anju's husband, Kumar, said that he had no idea about his wife's plans and that he did not know how she arranged the visa. "I usually don't touch my wife's phone to check her messages," Kumar told ANI. He said his children will decide if they want to continue living with Anju once she returns.

The story of Anju and Nasrullah mirrors that of Seema Haider from Pakistan's Karachi and Sachin Meena from India's Uttar Pradesh state. Seema entered India with her four children in May to be with Sachin, whom she met while playing an online game. She, Sachin, and his father were arrested but later granted bail. Seema is currently living in India with Sachin and wishes to stay back.

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