From Facebook friendship to marriage: Lahore High Court steps in after Indian woman alleges harassment by Pakistan Police

The Lahore High Court has directed police authorities in Pakistan to stop harassing Sarabjeet Kaur, a 48-year-old Indian Sikh woman who recently converted to Islam and married a Pakistani man she had known online for years.

Kaur had travelled to Pakistan earlier this month as part of a group of nearly 2,000 Sikh pilgrims who entered through the Wagah border to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. While the rest of the pilgrims returned to India on November 13, Kaur did not go back and was later reported missing.

According to Lahore police officials, Kaur married Nasir Hussain, a resident of Sheikhupura district about 50 kilometres from Lahore, on November 4, just a day after arriving in Pakistan. When her pilgrimage group left for Nankana Sahib that same day, she instead travelled to Sheikhupura with Hussain.

Following reports of their marriage, Kaur and Hussain approached the Lahore High Court, alleging that police had unlawfully raided their home in Farooqabad, Sheikhupura, and were pressuring them to end their marriage. Justice Farooq Haider instructed the police not to intimidate the couple or interfere in their personal lives.

In their petition, Kaur claimed that a police officer had “caused undue harassment” and had tried to force them to dissolve the marriage. She stated that her husband is a Pakistani citizen and that she has reached out to the Indian mission to extend her visa and initiate an application for Pakistani citizenship.

A video circulating on social media shows Kaur, now known as Noor after embracing Islam, speaking about her relationship with Hussain. “I am a divorcee and wanted to marry Hussain. Therefore, I came here for the purpose,” she said. “Both of us are being harassed by police and unknown people.” She added that she had known Hussain for nine years through Facebook and that she “happily married Hussain.”

Kaur is originally from Amanipur village in Punjab’s Kapurthala district. Reports indicate that her former husband has been living abroad for several years. She is the mother of two sons.