The Mumbai Mirror on Thursday frontpaged a report saying that 29-year-old Ayesha Siddiqui will get a formal divorce and Rs 15 crore from her husband Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik in order to bring an end the weeklong soap opera that had gripped both the countries.
It has also come to light that former India captain and currently Congress MP from Moradabad Mohammed Azharuddin, a leading light among Hyderbadi Muslims, was among those who brokered the settlement, the newspaper reported.
Officially, the report says, Ayesha will get Rs 5,000 per month as mehr for three months during the Iddat period as her alimony according to the Shariat law.
While the Siddiqui family emphatically denies any additional money changing hands, sources close to the family told Mumbai Mirror that Shoaib has agreed to pay Rs 12 crore directly to Ayesha and her family and another Rs 3 crore towards sundry ‘costs.'
A group of five community elders have taken the responsibility of coordinating the management, it is believed. Ayesha has to reciprocate by withdrawing the police case against Malik. The Pakistani cricketer has been booked under sections 498A (harassment), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
One of those involved in the exercise told Mumbai Mirror, “Shoaib was reluctant to sign the papers. But we all convinced him that as per the nikaahnama, he had married a girl, and he should divorce her keeping this in mind.”
Malik took the risk only after consulting would-be wife Sania and her father Imran Mirza.
Community leader Major Qadri, who announced the ‘amicable and respectful settlement' between Malik and Ayesha to the media, said, “To be on the safe side, we mentioned her name on divorce papers as ‘Ayesha alias Maha Siddiqui'.”
The mediators to the deal included Mohammad Azharuddin, Andhra Pradesh Minorities Welfare Minister Mohammed Ahmadullah, and Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Abid Rasool Khan.
Shoaib and Ayesha signed their divorce papers seaparately. Talking to media after the ‘divorce', Ayesha alias Maha Siddiqui said she was now feeling relieved after getting the divorce, but refused to discuss the matter any further. “I want to restart my life from a new beginning. Now, I will concentrate on my health”, she said . Ayesha said, she would now like to watch Shahid Kapoor's movie ‘Badmash'.
Married over landline, the two divorced over cellphone.
Sources said the Pakistani all-rounder dialled Ayesha's landline number from his mobile to utter the triple talaq.
The 9am telephone talaq, which ended their June 2002 phone wedding, came after nightlong efforts at a compromise by a team of 15 mediators who included local qazis, relatives and friends of both families.
“I intervened after friends from Delhi urged me to bring about a compromise as both (Sania and Ayesha) were Hyderabad girls,” said Andhra Pradesh minorities minister Ahmadullah Syed Mohammed, one of those who played a role in making Shoaib accept that he had married Ayesha nearly eight years ago.
More:
Shoaib Divorces Ayesha, Way Cleared For Marriage With Sania...
