An Indian Sikh woman who travelled to Pakistan as part of a group of pilgrims visiting the country for Guru Nanak Jayanti went missing, police said.
An Urdu document that has now surfaced suggests that the woman allegedly converted to Islam and married a Pakistani local just days after she went missing from the group.
Sarabjit Kaur, 52, who is from Amnipur village in Punjab, Kapurthala, was part of a group of pilgrims who travelled to the Pakistan on November 4 to celebrate the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. She was part of a delegation of about 1,923 Sikh members or a Jatha, led by the Jathedar of the Akal Takht Sahib, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj. The pilgrimage was part of a bilateral agreement between the two countries that facilitates visits to religious shrines. The group had travelled to the neighbouring country via the Attariwagah border.
The Jatha spent 10 days visiting the gurdwaras in the country, and then 1,922 members returned to India on Thursday. The missing woman triggered major security concerns for both countries. She had allegedly not mentioned her citizenship and passport number on the immigration form, and her name was missing from both Pakistan’s exit records and India’s re-entry log, The Indian Express reported. Officials from both India and Pakistan are trying to trace Kaur after the immigration department informed the Punjab police. The Indian authorities are in touch with Pakistani authorities, IANS reported.
The documents that have now surfaced are an Urdu Nikahnama, an Islamic wedding contract and Kaur's passport. The information suggested that she married Nasir Husain, a resident of Sheikhupura, which is 56 kilometres away from Lahore. It was also suggested that she had converted to Islam and changed her name to Noor before her marriage. The authenticity of the document has not been independently verified.
Kaur was divorced and had two sons with Karnail Singh, who was living in England for 30 years, NDTV reported.
Last month, the government allowed Sikh devotees to cross the border about two weeks after refusing permission over security concerns. Pakistan officials had also refused permission to 14 Hindus from Delhi who had tried to accompany the Sikh group. After the Pahalgam attack, India had tightened its travel restrictions, barring foreign passport holders from crossing the Attari border.
