‘Mehr’ for Ayesha Rs.500, for Sania Rs.61 lakh

HYDERABAD - The two figures are not even comparable. Pakistani cricketer paid a paltry Rs.500 as ‘mehr’ for his first wife Ayesha Siddiqui but paid a whopping Rs.61 lakh for his second wife Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

The ‘nikahnama’ signed by Shoaib while marrying Ayesha alias Maha Siddiqui in 2002, shows 500 Pakistani rupee as the ‘mehr’ (the gift given by the bridegroom to the bride at the time of marriage).

The former Pakistani skipper paid Rs.61 lakh as ‘mehr’ to Sania, whom he married here Monday.

Qazi Najmuddin Hussain, who completed the nikah formalities, said that the ‘mehr’ was fixed at Rs.61 lakh in cash.

Mehr, a prerequisite for a Muslim marriage, can be in the form of cash, gold or other valuables and it is aimed at providing some security to the wife in the event of divorce or widowhood. The bridegroom pays the ‘mehr’ which he can afford.

Shoaib is believed to have written the ‘mehr’ amount of Rs.500 just to complete the ‘nikah’ formality over phone.

The cricketer, who claimed that he married Ayesha presuming her to be the girl whose photographs he received, divorced her last week.

He also paid Rs.15,000 to Ayesha as maintenance for three months as per Islamic shariat.