Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 9

Rising tensions between India and Pakistan at the Line of Control (LoC) post Pulwama attack did not deter Parvinder Singh, an Ambala youth, from tying the knot with Pakistani girl Kiran Sarjeet.

Kiran Sarjeet, a native of Sialkot in Pakistan, had come all the way to marry Parvinder Singh, a resident of Tepla village in Ambala, Haryana.

Delayed by a week, following the suspension of the cross-border train, Samjhauta Express, after the tensions between the two nations escalated last week, Parvinder Singh (33) married Kiran Sarjeet (27), a distant relative of his aunt, as per the Sikh tradition at Khel Sahib Gurdwara in Patiala, on Saturday afternoon.

Parvinder, a telecom operator, was engaged to Sarjeet in 2016 when she had visited her maternal uncle’s house at Samana in Patiala. Initially, Parvinder had planned to cross over to marry her, but things didn’t work out because he was denied visa by Pakistan.

After the authorities gave a 45-day visa for Patiala to the family of the bride, they decided to solemnise the marriage in Patiala. Now, Parvinder and Sarjeet will stay at Samana — at a house of a distant relative of the couple.

Meanwhile, residents of groom’s native village Tepla have asked the authorities to give a visa for Ambala to Kiran. Sarpanch of the Parvinder’s village, Summet Kaur said villagers had already strongly expressed that the bride should stay at her husband’s native village.

Parvinder said he would request the authorities to give his bride visa for Ambala.

Parvinder Singh, after the marriage, said, “I hope our marriage sends out a message of love to both the neighbouring countries. I think I have done my bit to de-escalate the tensions between the two nations. I had known her since long as she was a distant relative of my aunt in Samana. Our elders in the family played a big role in solemnising the marriage.”