'Bahu aaye ya na aaye par aman bana rehna chahiye': Pahalgam terror attack casts shadow on UP bahu’s first visit from Lahore

LUCKNOW: As ties between India and Pakistan hit a new low over the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the wait for Andleep Zahra, who married the son of a BJP corporator from Jaunpur in an online ‘nikah' ceremony, to meet her husband Mohammad Haider Abbas has extended further.
Married in Oct, Zahra from Lahore has been awaiting visa clearance since then. Now, with the fresh diplomatic deep freeze between the two nations, her hope of coming to India has been shattered.
Talking to TOI, her father-in-law Tahseen Shahid said: "Zahra had applied for a visa twice in Islamabad. The first application before the marriage was rejected. She had re-applied for a visa one month back, enquiry was going on, but some things are beyond one's control."
"The deadly Pahalgam attack has flared the tensions between India and Pakistan once again... What can we do in such a situation? Whoever did wrong should be punished. Our hearts are seething with rage. We want stringent punishment for those spreading terror in India. We are with the govt in this hour of crisis. Bahu aaye ya na aaye par aman bana rehna chahiye (Whether our daughter-in-law comes to India or not, but peace should prevail)," he said as his voice choked.
Left with no option, the couple has been maintaining their relationship through video calls after their ‘nikah'. "Allah is benevolent. But, we cannot choose our own destiny. Nothing is in our control. Ours is a typical cross-border relation which is very tough to maintain. So to be in touch, we communicate via video calls," Haider told TOI.
Amid strained relations between India and Pakistan, the elder son of Shahid, married a resident of Lahore in an online nikah following visa delay. Shahid had fixed the marriage of his son, employed with an Indian e-commerce company, with his elder sister's daughter, a professor with a private university in Lahore. Despite applying for a visa, Haider was heartbroken as he couldn't obtain it due to the strained diplomatic ties between the two nations.
The situation turned worse for the families when Zahra's mother, Rana Yasmin Zaidi, was admitted to the ICU of a Pakistan hospital following health concerns. Left with no choice, Shahid had to conduct the ceremony online on Oct 18 last year.
Shahid said: "My ‘phuphu' (paternal aunt's husband) shifted to Lahore during the Partition. In 1986, my elder sister got married to his son. To take the relationship forward, I decided to marry my elder son to Zahra."