Pak woman reunites with husband in India

HUBBALLI: Daniel Henry Devanur, resident of Gudi Plot, Basaveshwarnagar, celebrated when his Pakistani wife Silvia Noreen finally landed in India on April 19, after a long delay in getting a visa, foreign media reported Monday. 

The visa was processed only after a frustrated Daniel tweeted to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, seeking her help in bringing Silvia to India. In reply to his tweet, Swaraj promised all help and retweeted his request. Silvia was advised to meet the deputy high commissioner of India in Pakistan, and after following the due procedure, she got the visa and flew from Islamabad to New Delhi on April 19. An ecstatic Daniel told TOI from Delhi, "I am excited my wife is back in India after nearly nine months of marriage. After a retweet by Sushma Swaraj, my wife got a visitor visa." 

Daniel, who works for a mobile company, married his distant relative Silvia Noreen on June 25, 2016, at the United Pentecostal Church at Youhana Colony, Lahore. Silvia's family had settled in Pakistan before partition. Daniel got his marriage registered and a certificate issued by the government of Pakistan. 

Silvia said she was excited to have finally reached India. "I could not control my emotions when I saw my husband and in-laws in Delhi. I don't want to go back to Pakistan and will try to get Indian citizenship," she added.