Husband attempts to strand wife in Pakistan


In H (A Child), the parents were both born in Pakistan enter an arranged marriage. The husband already lived in the UK by this time, and the wife joined him on a spousal visa in 2012.

Their son, ‘H’, was born shortly afterwards. The wife accused the husband of keeping hold of her and H’s passports following a matrimonial spat

Before the trip, she found out that her husband had been previously been married and had a daughter.

The wife was initially sceptical of the trip to Pakistan, but she was convinced to make the trip, when he swore on a Quran that she could keep both her and H’s passports for the entire of the trip.

There was a dispute about passports which precipitated an argument once they arrived, and the wife and husband left with their respective families. In court, they both claimed the other was holding on to the passports.

The husband contacted the High Commission and unsuccessfully applied to have his wife’s visa cancelled the day after the airport argument.

A senior High Court judge said she came “very firm view that the wife arrived in Pakistan deeply fearful that the husband was going to dump her there”.

The judge added that the husband’s attempt to cancel his wife’s visa demonstrated “his plan to leave her behind, but it failed”. She said that the plan was “callous and cruel”.

To read the full judgment, click here.

If you are involved in a family dispute involving crossbones and passports take expert legal advice early stage.