Chandigarh, Feb 13 — Sarabjit Kaur, a 48-year-old woman from Punjab’s Kapurthala district, has been released from a women’s shelter home in Pakistan but has declined to return to India, saying she wants to continue living with her husband there.
A fresh video of Sarabjit Kaur, now using the name Noor Fatima, surfaced in Pakistani media on Thursday, showing her confirming that she has returned to her husband’s residence in Pakistan. “We have been in a relationship for eight years. I want to spend the rest of my life here,” she said in the video.
Pakistani media reports said Sarabjit Kaur was released on February 11 after plans to deport her to India were temporarily put on hold. A viral photograph also showed her seated in a car alongside her lawyer, indicating her release from Dar-ul-Aman, a government-run shelter home in Lahore.
Sarabjit Kaur had travelled to Pakistan on November 4, 2025, as part of a Sikh pilgrimage group to Nankana Sahib to mark the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. While the rest of the pilgrims returned to India on November 13, she did not cross back.
Days later, reports emerged that she had married a Pakistani national after converting to Islam and had chosen to stay on in the country. Her visa, however, permitted travel only for religious purposes and for a limited duration.
Pakistani authorities arrested her last month for overstaying her visa and placed her at Dar-ul-Aman during the review of her legal status and possible deportation proceedings.
In the latest video message, Sarabjit Kaur reiterated her decision to remain in Pakistan, saying she had willingly returned to her husband’s home and did not wish to go back to India.