Pak woman Seema Haider's first husband seeks Indian govt's help to reunite with children

Seema and Sachin were arrested in July 2023 but later released on bail.

The first husband of Seema Haider, a Pakistani woman who illegally crossed over to India with her four children in 2023 to be with her lover whom she had met online, has appealed to the Indian government to help him meet his kids and gain custody.

Seema, 32, who is from Jacobabad in Sindh province, in May 2023 took her children and left her home in Karachi to travel to India via Nepal. She captured the headlines in July when Indian authorities found her living with Indian national Sachin Meena, 27, whom she now claims to have married, in the Greater Noida area in Uttar Pradesh. The duo got in touch in 2019 while playing online game PUBG.

Seema and Sachin were arrested in July 2023 but later released on bail. While Seema was charged with illegally entering India, Sachin was booked for sheltering the illegal immigrant. Seema’s first husband Ghulam Haider in a recent video message appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for ”justice”. Haider claimed he has been trying to gain custody of his children since late 2023, with the help of prominent Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist Ansar Burney.

In February last year, Burney confirmed Haider had approached him for help and hired an Indian lawyer to initiate legal proceedings in Indian courts. “After due process, we have hired an Indian lawyer, Ali Momin, and have sent the power of attorney to start legal proceedings in Indian courts,” he had said.

However, it’s unclear if the case has been initiated. Haider in the video message claimed, “It has been a year since the case is pending in court and I have not seen my children since 2023.” ”I appeal to the Indian minister, S Jaishankar, to give me justice,” he said. Haider alleged that his children are stuck in India because of their mother. ”She is trying to change their names and religion forcibly,” he claimed.

Haider was working in Saudi Arabia when Seema ran away to India via the UAE and Nepal. All her four children were below the age of 7 years in May 2023. In an earlier interview with BBC, Seema had said that she had adopted Hinduism and refused to return to Pakistan. Seema claims her children have also converted to Hinduism. In a recent Instagram post, Seema said she is expecting a child with Sachin.