By IANS,
Hyderabad: The controversy surrounding Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik’s “first marriage” with a girl from this city got murkier Friday with the girl’s family coming out with a “proof” of the marriage and demanding a ban on his visit to India ahead of his proposed marriage with tennis star Sania Mirza later this month.
Ayesha Siddiqui’s parents Friday night addressed a highly emotional press conference at their residence here, accusing Shoaib of cheating their daughter after marrying her and demanded that he give divorce to her before marrying Sania.
A furious M.A. Siddiqui lashed out at Shoaib and alleged that he was playing with Indian girls. “He spoiled the life of my daughter. As per the Islamic law, he should be stoned to death for committing zina (fornication),” he said before he was escorted out of the room by his relatives.
Farisa Siddiqui said her husband’s condition was turning critical because of the cheating by Shoaib. “We are not asking anything from Shoaib. We want divorce for our daughter so that she can re-marry,” she said.
The Siddiqui family also released pictures of the “nikahnama” or marriage contract as proof of the marriage. The document carries the signatures of Shoaib and Maha Siddiqui, which is claimed to be another name of Ayesha Siddiqui.
“Her passport is in the name of Maha Siddiqui,” Farisa said while denying the allegation by Shoaib’s brother-in-law Imran Zafar that they were shown the picture of another girl.
Ayesha’s parents reiterated that they would initiate legal proceedings against Shoaib to get divorce for their daughter.
Farisa claimed that her daughter underwent a “dangerous surgery” to lose weight as Shoaib had started humiliating her for being overweight.
Earlier, Ayesha told a television channel that the Pakistani cricketer didn’t like her because she was “overweight” and she had even gone in for cosmetic surgery to improve her appearance.
Ayesha also demanded that Malik give her an “official divorce” before marrying Sania Mirza.
Siddiqui, 23, told Times Now TV news channel that she had the documents to prove that she was Malik’s first wife. The cricketer has denied he married Ayesha.
“He didn’t like me because I was overweight,” Ayesha told the channel, adding that she went to Delhi for cosmetic surgery to improve her appearance after her marriage.
In an appeal to the Malik family, Ayesha said that Shoaib is “blinded by his success. But what are you people doing? You have to answer to the almighty?”
“We don’t want anything from him. This is not the right way to get publicity. I know him since 2000 and have been suffering a lot for the past three years,” she said.
“I won’t stoop so low, just give me an official divorce so that I can go ahead with my life. I don’t want people to ask me questions,” she demanded.
Asserting that she had nothing against Sania Mirza, Ayesha said: “If Malik wants to divorce me, he should do it publicly. I have nothing against her. I wish her all the best.”
“The most important thing for me is to get a divorce officially,” she added.
A relative of Malik, however, claimed that “Shoaib had never married Ayesha”. Shoaib’s brother-in-law Imran Zafar told a television channel that if the Siddiqui family had any proof of the marriage they should go to court instead of giving it to the media.