Hyderabad , April 9: The Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik marriage thriller got one more unexpected twist with Qazi Azmatullah of Dar-ul-Qazzat announcing that their wedding would be solemnised at 7.30 pm on Friday instead of April 15, as earlier announced.
However, Sania’s parents, Mr Imran Mirza and Mrs Nasima Mirza, and her aunt, Ms Hameeda, denied the Qazi’s claim at around 8 pm and made it clear that both the nikah and reception would be held on April 15, as planned.
“We have made all the arrangements to perform the nikah at around 7.30 pm after the Maghrib prayers,” said Qazi Azmatullah at around 11 am Friday. “The Mirzas have contacted us for this.”
Within an hour, a large number of mediapersons arrived at the residence of Sania Mirza in Jubilee Hills; by 7 pm the road leading to the house was jampacked with hundreds of journalists and cameramen. Over a dozen OB vans were rushed to the spot by various news channels to catch the nikah live.
Mr Imran Mirza finally stepped out and told journalists waiting outside his residence that the nikah would be held on the morning of April 15. “There are no plans to change the schedule,” he said.
The “cross-border marriage” has generated a lot of controversy since Shoaib made a sudden appearance at Sania’s residence on April 3, got entangled in a police case over his earlier marriage to city girl Ayesha Siddiqui, issued a spree of denials, and finally divorced her on April 7.
It looked as if the dust had settled when the deputy qazi of Golconda, under whose jurisdiction the Mirza residence lies, made the surprising statement on Friday. Meanwhile, Sania’s family members approached the city police seeking a residential permit for Shoaib as the Wakf Board qazi was insisting on proof of his stay in Hyderabad.
Ms Naseema Mirza spoke to senior police officers about this but they cited legal difficulties relating to his visa in giving the permit and asked her to furnish the passport to the Wakf Board and get clearance.
Shoaib’s passport, however, is deposited in court and will not be released unless his ex-wife Ayesha files a compromise petition and appears in court. “Or the police can file a petition in the court that the complainant is not interested in pursuing the case and it can be closed,” said an official.
Mr Imran Mirza also met West Zone deputy commissioner of police Stephen Ravindra and sought police assistance for the reception to be held at Taj Residency on April 15. At least 1,300 guests are expected to attend the reception.
Age Correspondent