Afghan girl wins alimony

 
Once displaced to Pakistan from her native town of Kabul due to war, she is currently in New Delhi to assert her rights after an Indian Army doctor allegedly deserted her after reportedly marrying her during his posting in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

When Dr Chandrashekahar Pant neither met Sabra Yusufjai alias Sabra bibi nor responded to her calls for two years, she landed in December 2008 at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, where he was posted at the Army Hospital. Sabra was utterly devastated when she learnt that Dr Pant was married and had two children from his first wife.

On a petition filed by Sabra, Sunaina Sharma, Magistrate, Delhi Metropolitan Court, passed an interim order on September 11 for payment of maintenance to her as she had succeeded in convincing the court that she was married to Dr Pant. According to the order, Pant will have to pay Rs 5,000 per month for her maintenance and Rs 3,000 per month towards payment of rent.

Sabra met Pant in 2006 during his posting in Kabul. After passing the senior secondary examination, Sabra worked as a translator at the international airport in Kabul.

“I was working at the international airport when Pant proposed to me, pretending that he was a bachelor. With the consent of my parents, we got married on December 10, 2006,” Sabra said. Pant converted to Islam to win over her parents.

She added that after their marriage, they lived in a rented apartment in Kabul before Pant moved to India at the end of his term. Sabra claimed that Pant had promised to take her to India. She produced before the court her “nikahnama” with Pant, wedding photographs as well as a copy of the rent deal with the landlord in Kabul as evidence.