DUBAI: Taking a leaf from Zainab Fawad’s book, a Dubai-based divorcee has resumed her fight to wrest custody of her three minor daughters from her Pakistan-based husband.
Lithuanian Maimouna Liskaus-kaite, 36, has not seen her girls since April 4, 2011 when her husband of seven years took their daughters out on the pretext of taking them to Safa Park but instead flew with them to Pakistan and disappeared.
Maimouna was still reeling from the shock when she was couriered divorce papers from Pakistan four days later and her in-laws asked her to vacate their Jumeirah villa.
“Like Zainab, I also went through hell but never lost hope. Our stories are similar. We were both abandoned by our husbands and separated from our children. So I thought if an Indian woman can get her kids back from Pakistan then why can’t I?” she said, referring to the November 17, 2016 XPRESS story which helped Zainab reunite with her twin boys, Muzammil and Mustafa after nearly three years.
The reunion is now the subject of an upcoming Bollywood movie.
Maimouna said the dramatic turnaround in Zainab’s life has steeled her resolve to continue her fight for justice.
Maimouna said she is planning to travel to Multan in Pakistan’s Punjab province and look for her daughters Mariam, 13, Aisha, 11, and Amna, 9 where the Lithuanian passport-holders are believed to be living with their father and stepmother.
“Let’s not forget that the kids are Lithuanian nationals. They can’t be living in Pakistan and I will do whatever it takes to get them back as I have a court order granting me their custody.
“My visa application to Pakistan was rejected so I am applying all over again. I have had several meetings with officials at the Pakistan consulate in Dubai in recent days and am hopeful of a positive outcome,” said Maimouna as she wiped tears and flipped through a photo album of her daughters.
“See how they bedraggled they look,” she said pointing to a group photograph of Mariam, Aisha, Amna sent to her by an anonymous source from Pakistan a few years ago.
“This is the only image I have of them after their abduction,” added Maimona who now teaches at pre-school in Dubai.
“The pain of separation from my girls was so intense, I almost lost my sanity. But being in the midst of children helped. Some of the kids are the age of Amna who was just three years old when she was snatched away,” added Maimouna who also runs a Facebook group ‘Looking for My 3 Daughters’ to drum up support for her cause.
THE STORY SO FAR:
1996: Maimouna, formerly known as Edita, meets Dubai-born Pakistan national J.S. while he is studying medicine in her home country Lithuania.
January 2, 2003: She embraces Islam and her husband gives her a new name — Maimouna
January 17, 2004: The couple get married in Lithuania
October 2004-April 2008: The couple has three daughters
— Mariam, Aisha and Amna
December 2010: The family travels to Dubai to live with
J.S.’ father in his Jumeirah villa
April 4, 2011: Maimouna’s hubby tells her he’s taking their
daughters to a park but instead flies with them to Pakistan
April 8, 2011: Maimouna is divorced from Pakistan
December 17, 2013: Dubai Court grants her custody of her kids.
