Indian Groom, Pakistani Bride: Sushma Helps Couple Tie the Knot

Lucknow: Naqi Ali Khan, a Lucknow resident, was to get married to 24-year-old Sabahat Fatima but the couple could not tie the knot as the bride is a Pakistani citizen and could not travel to India due to visa issues.
The groom reached out to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last year and the couple had their Nikah . The marriage was solemnised by the vice-president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq.
Khan is an engineer by profession and lives in Agha Mir Deodhi locality in Old Lucknow, while Sabahat hails from Karachi, Pakistan. Both families are known to each other but were separated during Partition.
The newlyweds thanked Swaraj and hoped that the government will help in getting Sabahat Indian citizenship. “We are extremely grateful to Sushma Swaraj for this gift,” the groom said.
This isn’t the first time that Swaraj has gotten involved in a similar situation. Last August, 25-year-old resident of Karachi, Sadia, was to marry Syed Shariq Hashmi (28) of Lucknow. It took the Union Minister’s help to get Sadia her visa and the couple were finally united in matrimony.