No passport, 'qazi' denies Shoaib Malik marriage visa

Miya-biwi (bride and groom) were razi (ready), but the qazi (priest) was not.

The families of tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik had planned their nikah on Friday, but the rule book played spoilsport. With some key documents to be submitted by the cricketer to the Wakf Board not available, the marriage could not be solemnised.

Sources said the religious leaders who had to approve the marriage objected to the non-availability of Shoaib’s passport. The document is with police and despite his alleged first wife Ayesha Siddiqui withdrawing her complaint, its handover is expected to take time.

The qazis refused to come on record, but sources in the know of the developments said they insisted on producing a copy of the passport, since Shoaib is a foreigner marrying an Indian girl. Along with the nikahnama, the passport copy has to be submitted to the Wakf Board before the marriage is registered.

The qazis had confirmed on Friday morning that the nikah would be performed in the evening, but the Mirzas and the Maliks remained elusive through the day. Efforts of both families to retrieve the passport did not yield result.

A qazi has the discretion to overlook some provisions in the rule book, but considering the controversy in the case, no one was willing to take the risk.

In the evening, the Mirzas confirmed there was no marriage and the ceremonies would begin on April 13. A formal nikah would now be performed on the morning of April 15, followed by a reception in the evening.

Sources said though Ayesha’s complaint stood withdrawn, the material collected as evidence from her and Shoaib, including his passport, could be recovered only through a court order.

In fact, the complaint will be considered formally withdrawn only after the court’s intervention, since it has already been listed and cases slapped on Shoaib. “Considering the lengthy procedure to be adopted for dropping the charges, it would take at least a day or two for the passport to be retrieved,” a source said.

Earlier, Azmatullah Jaffri, the qazi appointed to read out the nikahnama, had said, “We will perform the marriage today [on Friday] between 7 pm and 8 pm. As you all know, Friday is very auspicious for us.”

However, the Mirzas maintained that there was never a plan to complete the formality on Friday.