London, June 04: A Pakistani who had abandoned his Scottish wife and two children, weeks after being granted a visa to live in the UK indefinitely, has been traced and found working in a takeaway shop.
Basharat Raja was found on Monday by a newspaper sleuth. He had been on his trail ever since he discovered that Raja had abandoned his wife Isobel. Raja had, as most Pakistani on the run have done, gone to Pakistan soon after being granted his visa. He did not return to his home in Thurso, Caithness. His wife was left with a debt of £7,000.
Now, Raja has been found working in the kitchen of Tandoori Nights in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, but denied he had left his wife for a visa. A friend of his had also revealed that he had another wife in Pakistan and a baby with another woman in Glasgow.
However, after being found, the 39-year-old Raja begged the newspaper not tell Isobel of his whereabouts and claimed he left home because of her. He said: "She was a torture to live with. It made me mentally upset to be there. Nothing to do with a visa."
Although he claimed he still loved his children, Raja has not contacted them since he disappeared four months ago. But he has promised to repay his debts. He said: "I went to Pakistan and my weight was 10 kilos more because I had peace of mind over there in my own country. I was very happy over there." But added that he had returned to Scotland to escape the heat in Pakistan.



Isobel denied that the couple had fallen out. She said: "If we had fallen out, there is no way I would have given him £1200 to go to Pakistan. I even gave him £400 to buy me a wedding anniversary gift. He came back with two gold bracelets. After he vanished, I found out they were worthless. I've been taken to the cleaners. It still hurts."



More developments are awaited. His wife might possibly go to solicitors.