A 34-year-old Indian mother of two children who travelled to a remote village in Pakistan to marry her Facebook friend after converting to Islam has received some money and a piece of land as gifts for embracing the religion.
Anju — who now goes by the name of Fatima after converting to Islam — on July 25 married her 29-year-old friend Nasrullah, whose home is in the Upper Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They became friends on Facebook in 2019.
On Saturday, Mohsin Khan Abbasi, the chief executive officer of a real estate company based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, visited Anju and Nasrullah at their residence.
He presented Anju a cheque, the amount of which was not known, and a land document in the presence of her husband to make her feel at home in Pakistan.
Abbasi said he gifted some cash and a 10 marla (approx 2,722 sq ft) plot to help Anju start her new life after converting to Islam so that she should not face any difficulty.
"Anju travelled all along from India to this part of Pakistan and converted to Islam to start her new matrimonial life. We came here to welcome her to our religion and congratulate her on her marriage," he said.
Anju, who was born in Kailor village in Uttar Pradesh and lived in the Alwar district of Rajasthan, travelled to Pakistan legally from India via the Wagah-Attari border. She was granted a 30-day visa, valid for Upper Dir only. Her visa will expire on August 20.
Anju is married to Arvind, who is in Rajasthan. They have a 15-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.