NEW DELHI: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has directed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to renew the passport of an allegedly abused Indian woman married to a Pakistani man, and facilitate her return, reports said on Wednesday.

They said Mohammadi Begum, who hails from Telangana, was living with her husband in Sialkot. She complained to her parents that she was being harassed and beaten up by her husband and in-laws and that she wanted to come back to India.

The woman’s father Moham­mad Akbar appealed to Ms Swaraj who, in turn, asked officials of the Indian High Commis­sion to meet Ms Begum.

On Monday, Ms Swaraj posted on Twitter that the officials met Ms Begum and she had expressed her desire to return to India.

Following this, Telan­ga­na’s Majlis Bachao Tehreek spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan posted the video of a telephone conversation between Ms Begum and her mother, in which she allegedly said she was beaten up and threatened by her husband for informing the Indian mission.

Mr Khan also mentioned that Ms Begum’s husband married her by claiming that he was an Omani national but has been keeping her in ‘captivity’ in Pakistan for the past 15 years.

“Mohammadi Begum said that she has faith in Allah and the Indian government, especially in Smt Sushma Swaraj, MEA and the Indian Embassy officials in Pakistan, that they had assured her that as soon as her passport is renewed she will be transferred to Mumbai and then to Hyderabad,” Mr Khan said.

It was not clear if the woman has retained her Indian nationality or become a Pakistani citizen.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2017