Seema Haider Case: Intelligence Failure Or Big ISI Conspiracy, How Did Pakistani 'Bhabhi' Come To India?

Former Uttar Pradesh DGP Vikram Singh says that Seema Haider’s case should be thoroughly investigated by the police and the intelligence agencies.

NOIDA: The controversy surrounding Seema Ghulam Haider, the Pakistani woman who crossed borders along with her four children and entered India “illegally” to stay with her Noida-based lover Sachin Meena. Haider, who is now being referred to as the Pakistani ‘Bhabhi,’ has become the talk of the town ever since she was arrested for an “illegal” stay in India along with her lover Sachin Meena on July 4 and granted bail by a local court three days later. Interestingly, the woman claims to have come in contact with her lover Sachin in 2019 through the PUBG Mobile gaming app and fell in love with each other.

While some say that the Pakistani woman, who is reportedly fluent in English and knows how to operate a computer, is actually a Pakistani spy agency agent and has been planted in India as part of a big conspiracy by its notorious spy agency ISI, others call it a case of cross-border love.

Former Uttar Pradesh DGP Vikram Singh told a private TV news channel that Seema Haider’s case should be thoroughly investigated by the police and the intelligence agencies. Questioning how an ordinary Pakistani woman can cross borders along with her four children without a valid visa and come to live in Noida without being detected by Indian agencies.

Ex-DGP Vikram Singh wondered if it is possible for an Indian to go to Pakistan without a valid visa and stay there freely. The former top UP cop said it is strange that just after three days of questioning the Pakistani lady has been let off and she is now living freely in Greater Noida where she is being welcomed by the local residents.

Singh said several questions still remain unanswered and the Indian investigators should contact her estranged husband Ghulam Haider, who stays in Dubai, over video-conferencing for more information about the woman. While calling for the need to fix the loose ends in India's intelligence gathering mechanism, Singh also called for a probe to ascertain who helped Seema Haider in crossing the Indian border via Nepal to come to Noida.   

I Am Not A Terrorist: Seema Haider  

Seema Haider has meanwhile categorically denied allegations of being an ISI agent. Speaking exclusively to Zee Media, Seema Haider denied speculations about being a Pakistani spy agent who has been planted by the ISI in India. She told Zee Media that she is deeply in love with Sachin, who has taken great care of her children ever since they first met and got married in Nepal.

Seema Haider also claimed that she was getting death and rape threats from Pakistan and that she fears for her life. Making an emotional appeal to the Government of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Noida Police, Seema said that she is a simple woman who wants to live in India. “I am not a terrorist. I am an ordinary woman. I appeal to the government of India not to send me back to Pakistan otherwise I will be killed. I have changed my lifestyle. I have embraced Hinduism. I love Indian culture and want to live here forever.” Seema also accused her Gulam Haider, who stays in Saudi Arabia, of spreading misinformation to defame her.

Seema Haider-Sachin Meena Love Story 

For the unversed, Seema fell in love with Greater Noida's Sachin Meena over the online gaming platform PUBG and later crossed multiple international borders ''illegally'' to live with him. She has now become a vegetarian and is quickly learning to adapt herself to Hindu traditions and customs – all for love. Ever since she came from Pakistan, Seema Haider is in awe of the Indian culture and lifestyle. Not only has she converted to Hinduism, Seema has also given up her favourite food - chicken biryani, meat and fish. The Pakistani ‘Bhabhi’ is trying hard to wholeheartedly embrace Indian culture and doing everything to assimilate herself into Indian society. 

According to media reports, Seema Haider has converted to Hinduism and wears a Radhe-Radhe strap around her neck. She can be seen greeting guests with folded hands, seeking blessings by touching the feet of elders, and engaging in prayer. Seema, 30, said that she has adopted a vegetarian lifestyle like Sachin’s family and wants to live here in India for the rest of her life.

The Pakistani woman grabbed a lot of eyeballs after she and Sachin Meena, 25, were arrested by the authorities on July 4. While Seema was charged with illegally entering India, Sachin was booked for sheltering the illegal immigrant. Seema was accused of illegally entering India without a valid visa via Nepal with her four children, all aged below seven years, to live with her lover Sachin. The two were granted bail by a court in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida on Friday. 

How Did Seema & Sachin Met?

The couple's love story is as intriguing as a typical Bollywood potboiler. The two fell in love with each other while playing the online game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) during the Covid-19 pandemic. They met in Nepal earlier this year in March and got married. 

Narrating her story to reporters after walking out of jail, Seema said, "It was such a long and gruelling journey. I was very scared too. I first went from Karachi to Dubai, where we waited for 11 hours and couldn't sleep. We then flew to Nepal, before finally taking the road to Pokhara, where I met Sachin."

While she then went back to Pakistan, Sachin returned to India from Nepal. Upon reaching Pakistan, Seema, who claimed discord with her husband, sold a plot for Pakistani Rupees 12 lakh and arranged flight tickets and a Nepal visa for herself and her four children.

In May, she reached Nepal via Dubai and spent some time in the tourist city of Pokhara in the Himalayan nation. Then she took a bus to Delhi from Kathmandu and reached Greater Noida on May 13 with her children where Sachin had made arrangements for her to stay in a rented accommodation without disclosing her Pakistani identity.

How Did Their Love Story Come To Fore?

Their cross-border love story hit a dead-end after they were arrested on July 4 and put in jail. After getting bail from the court, Seema said that she will now focus on the paperwork to make her move to India official. She also said that she does want to go back to Pakistan and cited the stringent rules for women back in her country and a possible threat to her life.

"No one has brought me to India by persuasion, I have come here of my own free will for the sake of love," Seema said. In an interview with the BBC, Seema Haider said that she would rather slit her throat or consume poison than return to her homeland. Seema also revealed that she was forced to marry her Pakistani husband Gulam, who works in Dubai, at a very young age.

In his turn, Sachin, who works at a grocery store, said that he wants to live with Seema and her children in Greater Noida only. The duo also said they would contact lawyers to find out a way to legalise her stay in India. Seema said she will accept Hinduism. Sachin told reporters that they would soon take a dip in the holy Ganga together for her to embark on their new journey.

Twist In Seema & Sachin's Love Story

Seema Haider’s first husband Gulam Haider has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government to send his wife and children back to Pakistan. Gulam Haider, who is currently residing in Saudi Arabia, has released a video in which he alleged that his wife Seema was lured and manipulated into leaving him and coming to India through PUBG. 

Gulam Haider appealed to the Modi government to ensure a safe return of his wife and children to Pakistan. He also thanked the Indian media for their “unexpected support”. “I express my gratitude by joining hands with the Indian media, through whom I could find the whereabouts of my wife and children,” Gulam said.