An Indian Sikh pilgrim Sarabjeet Kaur initially believed to be missing during the celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary in Pakistan has been found to have embraced Islam and married a Pakistani citizen.
According to the available marriage certificate, 48-year-old Sarabjeet Kaur adopted the Islamic name Noor and married 42-year-old Nasir Hussain, a resident of Farooqabad in Sheikhupura district, on 5 November. The document records a dowry (haq mehr) of PKR 10,000, which has already been paid.
The issue came to light when the group of 1,923 Indian pilgrims departed for India via the Wagah border after completing their ten-day pilgrimage — with one person missing from the final count. When security agencies carried out verification, it was confirmed that Sarabjeet Kaur, a resident of Muktsar Sahib district in Indian Punjab, had not returned with the group. She was initially presumed missing, prompting a search operation.
A senior official of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) revealed that Sarabjeet Kaur had been attempting to obtain a visa for Pakistan for the past two years, finally securing one this time as part of the Sikh pilgrims’ delegation. He added that Sikh representative bodies in India generally do not permit single women to join such groups, but a special exemption was granted in her case.
Upon entering Pakistan through the Wagah border on 4 November, Sikh pilgrims were issued special identification cards, and throughout their stay, they were allowed to visit various cities — including Nankana Sahib, Hasan Abdal and Lahore — for shopping and sightseeing.
Initially, it was believed that Sarabjeet Kaur may have separated from the group during these activities. However, it has since emerged that she voluntarily converted to Islam and entered into marriage.
In the marriage certificate, she described herself as divorced and the mother of two children. It remains unclear who facilitated her conversion to Islam and how long she had been in contact with Nasir Hussain prior to her arrival in Pakistan.