Sushma Swaraj thanks Pakistan establishments for Indian woman's return

Amid continued tensions with Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday profusely thanked the Pakistani establishment and judiciary for facilitating Indian citizen Uzma Ahmed's return.

She said though there is tension between the two neighbours, the Pakistan foreign office and the Home Ministry played a key role in her return.

Swaraj had words of praise for Uzma's counsel Barrister Shahnawaz and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani of the Islamabad High Court.

She said while the counsel treated Uzma as his child, the judge dealt with the case on humanitarian grounds and not through the prism of India-Pakistan relations as some people wanted him to.

"I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she crossed the Wagah border," Swaraj told reporters in New Delhi.

Uzma, a Delhi woman, who had said she was forced to marry a man at gunpoint, returned home earlier in the day.

The minister also thanked officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, especially Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh.