A young woman, forcibly married to a cousin in Pakistan, was able to be brought back to Spain, Spanish police announced on Saturday who are continuing the investigation to identify all the people involved in this affair which has already led to the arrest of two members of her family.
Originally from Barcelona, she traveled to Pakistan in September 2025 after a member of her family told her that her relatives had finally accepted her relationship with a Pakistani national, owner of a computer store in Barcelona.
She was accompanied by an uncle, according to police. But, there, members of her family allegedly confiscated her Spanish passport before detaining her in a family home where her marriage to one of her cousins had been organized despite her refusal.
His companion finally raised the alarm in April, after he himself was stabbed in Barcelona by two men believed to be linked to this affair.
The Spanish police, in cooperation with the Spanish Embassy in Pakistan, were finally able to locate the victim and organize her safety and return to Spain, where she received specialized care.
The two arrested suspects, two men aged 41 and 45, are suspected of human trafficking for the purpose of forced marriage, according to a press release from the Catalan regional police. They were arrested on July 21 at Barcelona airport.
The Catalan capital has a large Pakistani community, with more than 26,000 Pakistani nationals registered in the city, making it the third largest group of foreign nationals, after Italians and Colombians.
