Film producer Mushtaq Nadiadwala claims wife has illegally kept their children in Pakan; HC seeks Centre’s response

The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought the Union government’s response to a petition filed film producer Mushtaq Nadiadwala claiming that his two minor children have been illegally detained in Pakan his wife. A division bench headed Justice Nitin Jamdar issued a notice to the Union Minry of External Affairs and posted the matter for further hearing on August 29.
Mushtaq, 49, in his petition sought a direction to the Indian government to facilitate safe return of his nine-year-old son and six-year-old daughter from Pakan.
His wife too was being held in the neighboring country her influential family and the government should ensure her return too, it said.
The petition, filed through senior advocate Beni Chatterji, said Mushtaq Nadiadwala approached the concerned authorities over the issue but did not receive any response.
The Indian government has failed to discharge its duty to protect and bring back his two children who are Indian citizens, the plea alleged.
The visiting visa granted to his children the Pakani authorities expired in October 2021 and they were now being detained in that country illegally his wife Maryam Chaudhary and her family, the petition said.
His wife refused to return to India without providing any plausible reason for deserting him, it claimed. As per the petition, Mushtaq married Maryam Chaudhary in April 2012 in Pakan following which she moved to India and applied for Indian citizenship. The couple subsequently had two children.
In November 2020, Chaudhary went to Pakan taking the children along, it said. In February 2021, she filed a ‘guardianship petition’ before a Lahore court seeking that she be appointed the children’s lawful guardian. The court granted the plea.
She herself might have been brainwashed or coerced into extending her stay in Pakan, Mushtaq said.
“The illegal detention of the children in Pakan is not only in gross derogation of immigration laws of both countries but is also predominantly contrary to the general well-being and upbringing of the children,” the petition said.