LONDON: Singer Noor ul Ain Khalid, popularly known as Annie or Annie Khalid, has alleged that her rich Pakistani husband subjected her to the worst kind of domestic and physical abuse throughout their marriage - starting allegedly much before their wedding on 16 July 2012 but two weeks after their nikkah earlier in the year.
The 'Britney Spears of Pakistan', who rose to fame in 2006 with her album 'Princess', got married to MMA Group of Companies' Chairman Malik Noreed Awan in Dubai. Annie shot to fame through her pop single "Mahiya" which gave her huge popularity and won her tens of thousands of fans. Since then she has released Urdu and English songs.
Sources close to Noureed Awan have alleged that the pop star has fled to London 3 weeks ago after taking Rs 10 million in cash and Rs 30 million worth jewellery from the couple's home in Dubai but the singer insists that she fled "to save my life only".
Speaking to Geo TV/Jang Newspapers in London at her family home, Annie shared her heartache and said that she left her husband because she feared being physically hurt - even killed.
"I have not stolen anything, no cash, nothing in kind. When I am fleeing to save my life, will I go to the bank when I didn't have a bank account in Dubai? I fled to London with a bag weighing less than 15KG. I only took with me my clothes, laptop, phone and my personal belongings. I couldn't have come out of Heathrow airport with that much cash. They are fabricating stories."
In an unfortunate twist of events, not only the arranged marriage of the pop singer has collapsed completely but the singer fears that her husband will unleash "dirty campaign" about her. "Noureed has threatened that he will release my pictures and other material that he thinks will discredit me. He is enraged about the fact I have walked out of our abusive marriage and he will go to any extent to tarnish my image. He will try to humiliate me with his misinformation campaign."
Annie alleges that she had been beaten on several occasions but on three occasions it was extremely violent and her in-laws turned a blind eye to the violence she was being subjected to. "I cannot forget when I was beaten in Abbotabad on chaand raat. Naureed beat, slapped, punched and kicked me. It was very painful. The beating lasted for about 25 minutes, my left shoulder bled after he smacked with a chair on my back and I had bruises all over my body. He was angry that why I went upstairs to talk to my sister and that by leaving the family meeting I had disrespected his family. The emotional pain is just too much. I didn't report it at that time because I didn't want to make a joke of my marriage. When I showed bruises to my father-in-law, he told me to go away and not spoil their Eid day."
Annie surprised everyone when she attended her own wedding only for ten minutes and was hospitalised on the same day too. She revealed to this correspondent that it was "stress and the trauma that was behind her ill health".
"On what should have been the most memorable day of my life (the Rukhsati day), I was suffering from Hepatitis C but my body was reacting to the stress about the beating I had received from my husband soon after the nikkah and I was thinking what have I got myself into. It was emotional stress and pressure. Even when I was ill, he suffocated me through a pillow. I was so weak that I couldn't lift my hand. I cannot begin to explain how bad it was. He categorically told me he suffocated me not to hurt but to kill me."
She choked stating that her marriage is over and that she has filed for divorce. "I regret that I went back to him but I wanted to save my marriage and I gave him a chance believing that my love will change him. I know love can do wonders and I thought I could help him. I loved him a lot and it was out of respect and love that I went back. Never again."
Annie says that she lived in a terrified state of mind with Naureed and anticipated being attacked violently all the time. "I used to carry a small bottle of perfume by my bedside. I thought I will spray his eyes if he attacked in the middle of the night. I was so scared of him."
Annie claims that she filed the report to the police in Dubai after the third beating but then didn't press charges. "The Dubai police wanted to arrest my husband on the basis of the medical evidence but I was confused and didn't want to go ahead and arrest my husband. But then the violence escalated every time. He said I deserved it when he hit me and he held me responsible every time. He wanted to show to me that I was not worthy of him, that I should be thankful to him that he got married to me. It was as if I was dying on the street and he picked me up and married me."
Despite several phone calls and text messages, Malik Naureed didn't respond to request for a comment.
