LUCKNOW: Serving as a lecturer at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Medical College in Kanpur, Dr Shaheen Shahid, who has been arrested in connection with the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) module busted in Faridabad, got married to Dr Zafar Hayat in 2003. Her marriage with Dr Hayat, currently working as an ophthalmologist at KMP hospital in Kanpur, lasted only for seven years and both, with two kids, divorced each other in 2012.

Now with Dr Shaheen in police net, Dr Hayat recalled how she had started mounting pressure on him to settle abroad and that was the reason for their divorce. He said Dr Shaheen wanted the family, including two children, to settle either in Australia or Europe before getting divorce from him in 2012.

“I have nothing to do with her, no links since 2012. I do not share any relation with her. We have two children and they stay with me. We had an arranged marriage. I haven’t been in touch with her ever since we separated,” Dr Hayat said while interacting with media persons on Wednesday.

Asked if Dr Shaheen was a religious person, Dr Hayat denied, claiming that she was never very particular about religion. “Rather she was a liberal. She wanted us to settle in Australia or Europe. After that, we separated,” he added. “We had differences over going to Australia. My children do not talk to her. She was a professor of pulmonology, dealing with ailments related to respiratory system. In 2006 she completed her degree,” said Dr Hayat.