With Home Ministry's Help, A 25-YO Pakistani Girl Will Soon Meet Her Fiance In Lucknow

With the Union home minister's office extending a helping hand, hope rekindled for Lucknow boy Syed Shariq Hashmi and Karachi-based girl Sadia Mehran, whose plan to get married had earlier received a jolt with the Indian high commission in Islamabad rejecting the girl's visa twice.

TOI

Home minister Rajnath Singh's office responded to a TOI reporter's tweet about the plight Syed, 28, and Sadia, 25. In its July 4 issue, TOI had reported about Shariq and Sadia's proposed wedding, slated for August 1 and the troubles it entailed. This was followed by another story on July 5, with ambiguous plans of postponement following the visa application for Sadia being cancelled twice.

On Thursday, TOI received a call from the HMO, New Delhi, with a desire to unite the two, whose wedding had been arranged for by their families in 2012. "The couple should not lose hope.We will make all efforts to get the issue sorted. The details will have to be looked into," said an official from the HMO over the phone. The story published on July 5 was also tweeted by the TOI reporter. The home minister's office responded to the tweet on Thursday seeking details of Sadia's visa application. When TOI apprised Shariq, who lives in Golaganj, about the development, he was ecstatic.

"We really want our case to be pursued and it feels great to know the HMO is taking personal interest."

Representational Image

Sadia is engaged to Shariq, who runs a medical wholesale business. Having visited India five times, it was on Sadia's last visit to Lucknow in 2012 that the match was fixed and an alliance drawn between the families. Sadia had earlier told TOI that she loved India and wanted to settle here.