By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
KHYBER: Khyber Police have rescued a 54-year-old French woman from a house in Bara after receiving information about alleged domestic violence and illegal confinement on Monday.
District police officer Khyber Waqar Ahmed said that a team from Bara Police Station raided the house on June 18 following credible information that a foreign national woman was being subjected to domestic abuse.
The woman, identified as Sylvie Yasmina, a French citizen, was recovered during the operation. Police said initial investigations revealed that she had married a Pakistani national and had been living in Bara since 2014.
Police officials said the woman has five children, including one child with hearing and speech disabilities. She reportedly told police that she had been facing alleged mistreatment by her husband for several years and was not allowed to leave the house.
Khyber District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Ahmed said the woman informed police that she and her children were under severe stress due to the situation and expressed her desire to return to France.
Police took the woman and her four children into protective custody and shifted them to the women’s police station in Peshawar for safety and further legal proceedings.
A video circulating on social media showed the woman living in poor living conditions, with her room appearing to be made of mud and in a deteriorated state. Police said further investigation into the allegations was underway and legal action would be taken after completion of the inquiry.
The rescued French national has requested authorities facilitate her and her children’s return to France.
