Pakistani marriages on Indian portals

Pakistani marriages on Indian portals

Pakistani marriages on Indian portals

Never mind cross-border tensions, hundreds of Pakistanis are using India's matrimonial websites to find their ever-elusive soul-mates.

One of India's premier matrimonial websites, Shaadi.com, runs a franchise from Karachi and is encouraging the young and the not-so-young to register at the portal.

Bharatmatrimony.com is another portal that is a hit with Pakistanis. Lifepartnerindia.com, merasathi.com and shadi-online too have registered quite a few Pakistanis.

Khalida, 36, registered at one of the Indian portals three months ago and is interested in "Indian men", while a 28-year-old man is looking for a "sincere and loving girl who is settled in Europe."

Some others are more particular about their preferences. "Browneyedgirl2007" is 34, but wants men with "foot-long beards to keep off". She is also not keen on those "who would want to veil her".

"Midnyte" is a 30-year-old woman looking for an intelligent man "who can pick hints from different things and see the small points in a bigger picture". She lives with her father and pets and is willing to consider divorced men for an alliance.

Most portals offer convenient packages for Pakistanis. Shaadi.com members are expected to pay Rs 8,001 for a year-long membership, Rs 5,301 for six months and Rs 3,501 for three months.

"Ayyaz-Bobby" is a 29-year-old married man from Faisalabad who is looking for a second wife. "Shams38" is a divorced human rights professional with children "looking for somebody from a good family who is educated, mannered and reasonably good looking."

While Khalida is looking for an Indian man, most Pakistani women have filtered Indians in their search options. "Sj29" from the posh Clinton area of Karachi has blocked Indians from browsing her profile. So has "browneyedgirl2007", who is otherwise willing to settle in any part of the world.

There are also several hijab-wearing women looking for soul-mates. "MA-English" is a 32-year-old teacher who wears the veil. Some others, like "missrazagorgeous", are looking for "rich guys" who can finance their shopping sprees.

While most women on the portals say they do not drink alcohol, a large percentage apparently has no problem if their would-be husbands drink. The more adventurous brides-to-be have posted their videos on the websites.