Anju, the Indian mother of two children, who journeyed to a remote village in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to marry her Facebook friend, Nasrullah, is now planning to return to India.
She will return after getting clearance from the Pakistan government, her husband has said.
The 34-year-old was in the news back in July this year for travelling all the way to Pakistan to meet the 29-year-old Nasrullah, now her husband. She had befriended and fallen in love with him on Facebook.
Anju, hailing from Rajasthan's Bhiwadi district, was already married to a man named Arvind and she informed him that she was going to Jaipur for a few days. However, on July 23, Arvind learned through the media that Anju had crossed the border.
Speaking to the media, Arvind revealed that Anju had maintained contact with him via WhatsApp. However, on the day she left for Lahore, Anju called Arvind around 4 p.m. and said that she was in Lahore, with plans to return in two to three days.
When asked about Anju’s rumoured lover in Pakistan, Arvind said he was aware of her relationship and that he expressed hope that his wife would come back to him one day. The couple, who share two children, got married after Anju converted to Christianity to be with Arvind.
Reacting to the incident, Anju's father said that his daughter was “mentally disturbed and eccentric” and that she was not involved in any love affair.
After reaching the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Anju allegedly converted to Islam and married her Pakistani lover Nasrullah in a nikah ceremony held at the district courts in Upper Dir. According to police, the couple appeared in the district court in the presence of family members of Nasrullah, police personnel and lawyers.
A video of Anju and Nasrullah visiting picturesque mountainous locations and holding hands went viral on social media.
Initially, Anju and Nasrullah claimed they had no intention of marrying and would return to India when her visa expired on August 20. However, they tied the knot shortly after making these claims.
In August, Pakistan extended Anju's visa by one year, during which time she adopted the name Fatima following her conversion to Islam and marriage to Nasrullah.
Nasrullah, in a phone interview, told news agency PTI that his wife is "mentally disturbed and badly missing" her children. "She is mentally disturbed and badly missing her children and she had no other option except to go back," Nasrullah said.
He expressed concern for her mental well-being and believed it would be best for her to return to India to be with her two children—a 15-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. Nasrullah also mentioned the possibility of accompanying her back to India once the necessary documentation process is completed if he is granted a visa.