Left stranded for 3 months due to Balakot airstrike, Pakistani woman reunites with her Indian husband

Left stranded in the neighbouring country for three months in the wake of Balakot air strike, a Pakistan origin woman along with her two children has finally reunited with her husband here.

Married to Hyderabad-based Shaik Aijaz Mohiuddin, Sumaira Farooqi had gone to Pakistan to see her ailing father in December 2018.

Expressing gratitude, Farooqi told ANI: "It was my wish to celebrate this Eid with my family in Hyderabad. I am very happy that I celebrated it with my family here."

"I would also like to thank both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for taking up our case and helped me to get the visa."

She further said, "Since my marriage in 2011, I have been staying here with my husband. We are blessed with two children. Last year in December, my father had a stroke and I, along with my two kids, went to Pakistan to pay him a visit."

"Though my return ticket to India was scheduled on February 27, I couldn't fly as they offloaded all the passengers due to the escalated tension between India and Pakistan," she said.

"Consequently, we had to stay at Lahore airport for five days. When I explained the situation to my husband and mother-in-law, they sought the External Affairs Ministry's intervention," she said.

"We got stranded in Pakistan as my visa got expired on March 3 and my children's visa a few days later," she added.

On May 30, she united with her family in Hyderabad.