Seema Ghulam Haider, a Pakistani mother of four, who sneak into India to live with a Hindu man whom she become a friend through an online game platform, has ostracise by her family and neighbours here for daring to defy the societal norms in this conservative Muslim country.
As Seema Ghulam Haider and Sachin Meena got in touch while playing PUBG in 2019 and a dramatic love story unfolded between the two living more than 1,300 kms apart, in countries not too friendly to each other.
Seema Ghulam Haider age is 30 and Sachin Meena age is 22, live in the Rabupura area of Greater Noida, near Delhi, where he runs a provision store, according to Uttar Pradesh Police.
As Seema Ghulam Haider was arrest on 4th July 2023 for illegally entering India without a visa via Nepal with her four children, all age below seven years, Sachin Meena was put behind bars for sheltering illegal immigrants.
And they were release from jail recently, the news from across the border is not so positive.
Seema Ghulam Haider’s neighbours and a relative make it clear that they didn’t want her back in Pakistan.
The 16-year-old son of the landlord in whose rented home Seema stay with her children for the last three years before deciding to illegally enter India to be with her Hindu lover Said :
“She should just send her children back to Pakistan. She can stay there. Now she is no longer even a Muslim,”
The story of how this largely uneducated mother of four and the wife of a husband working abroad could have the courage in Pakistan’s largely conservative society to abandon everything and enter India illegally to be with a much younger man still fascinates everyone in her neighbourhood.
Seema Ghulam Haider’s home is in the neighbourhood of Bhittaiabad, Katchi Abadi in the heart of Gulistan-e-Jauhar and is nothing much to talk about as it is a three-room portion of a building devoid of any paint and located in a narrow lane full of garbage and overflowing sewerage.
The stench of sewage is toxic in the air as one drives down the crowded un-constructed lane and broken road bustling with people and shops on both sides with flies aplenty and a general unsanitary environment.
As soon as you reaches Seema Ghulam Haider’s house, one myth is broken that her husband, Ghulam Haider, who works in Saudi Arabia, brought her the house for Rs 1.2 million.
Nur Muhammad, the landlord’s son, said :
“No, she was a tenant with us for three years with her children. She lived alone with her children. Her father-in-law lives some distance away from here,”.
Seema and Ghulam Haider 10 years back to Karachi and got married against the wishes of their parents.
Jamal Jakhrani, an elderly man, who was her neighbour said :
“We saw her call a taxi and leave one day with her children and some bags and we thought she was going to her village in Jacobabad. But after nearly a month, when we heard about her escapade on TV channels, we were all shocked,”.
Efforts to try to talk to women in the narrow lane fail as the area is mostly inhabited by tribal area Pashtuns, Sindhis and Seraikis from rural areas and the men don’t allow their women to talk to strangers and make them observe “Pardah“.
But you can notice some women peeking out of their windows and main door inquisitive to know what was happening.
Jamal, who belongs to the same tribe that Seema and Ghulam Haider belong to, believes it is best Seema to remain in India now.
Jamal said :
“If ever she thinks of coming back, she will not be forgiven by the tribe and secondly, her decision to stay with a Hindu has angered everyone now,”.
Mian Mithoo, a high-profile religious leader in rural Sindh, known for using his seminary to convert Hindu girls to Islam and even bandits, has openly threaten to punish Seema Ghulam Haider if she returns.
His supporters have also threaten to attack Hindu worship places in Seema’s village, but SSP Kashmore-Kandhkot, Irfan Samoo, assure Hindus and Sikhs they would be protect.
Irfan Samoo is puzzle by the whole case and has found anomalies in Seema Ghulam Haider’s documents and tale.
Irfan Samoo said :
“Her national identity card says she was born in 2002. So, she should be 21 years of age now and yet she has four children all up to the age of 6 years,”.
He also said the police have ask Ghulam Haider to return from Saudi Arabia but he has in touch with them only on video or phone calls.
Ifan Samoo is not convince that a woman with a rural background would have the courage to plan her way to India via Dubai and Kathmandu.
An officer at the police station in Karachi where Seema Ghulam Haider’s father-in-law file an FIR is also not convince that it is a simple case as it looks.
Seema Ghulam Haider’s Father-in-Law said :
“The husband also keeps changing his stories to the police. First, he said he bought the house. Now he says he paid one million rupees to Seema’s family to settle a tribal decision when they first fled to Karachi,”.
“One thing is clear, Seema was frustrated with her husband’s absence and being forced to take care of four children by herself as she had no support even from her in-laws,”.
Malik, a mobile shop owner, remembers how, after a year, Seema Ghulam Haider move into the neighbourhood, she use to visit his shop to get her balance recharge frequently.
Malik Said :
“She always wore a chaddar over her head and had half of her face covered and also didn’t talk much, so that is what surprised me when I learnt about her decision,”.
Maulvi Samiuddin, a prayer leader in the neighbourhood mosque, was initially not even willing to talk about the incident but then said Seema Ghulam Haider was evil.
Maulvi Samiuddin said :
“Husbands should never leave their wives alone for years and parents need to constantly keep a watch on their daughters and sisters or we will have more such incidents in future as well, because most people, especially women, are not educated enough in such poor neighbourhoods to understand the consequences of their actions,”.
“She has brought shame to Muslims and Pakistan. She will sooner or later face punishment for her actions,”.
