Let me stay here, I’m India’s daughter-in-law now: Seema Haider

Seema Haider, a Pakistani national turned Indian daughter-in-law, seeks refuge in India after visa suspension amid terror attack fallout.

“I was Pakistan’s daughter, but now I’m India’s daughter-in-law,” said Seema Haider as she feared deportation after the government suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals as part of a series of retaliatory steps following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Ms. Haider made headlines in 2023 when she left Pakistan to marry her Indian lover Sachin Meena. She was already married back home in Sindh province but had illegally entered India via Nepal along with her four children.

In a video being shared on social media platforms, Ms. Haider says, "I do not want to go to Pakistan. I appeal to PM (Narendra) Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath to let me stay in India" Ms. Haider claims that she adopted Hinduism after marrying Mr. Meena.

Despite the countrywide backlash, her lawyer is hopeful that she will be allowed to live in India, as, he claimed, she was no longer a Pakistani citizen.

"Seema is no longer a Pakistani national. She married Sachin Meena, a resident of Greater Noida, and recently gave birth to their daughter Bharti Meena. Her citizenship is now connected with her Indian husband, and therefore the Centre's directive should not apply to her," Advocate A.P. Singh told PTI on Thursday (April 24, 2025.)

“I appeal to Modi ji and Yogi ji that I am in their refuge now. I was Pakistan’s daughter but now I’m the daughter-in-law of India. Let me stay here," Ms. Haider said in the video.

In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took a series of retaliatory steps, including suspension of visa services for Pakistani nationals, on Wednesday (April 23, 2025).