Rehana Kausar, 34, and Sobia Kamar, 29, from Pakistan married each other in a civil ceremony in Britain. Rehana Kausar and Sobia Komal tied knot at the Leeds Council’s registration office in the presence of their solicitors and two Pakistani friends.

Kausar is a master’s degree holder in economics from Punjab University. Both Kausar and Komal are students of business and health care management. They met for the first time in Manchester and have been together ever since.

The couple had told the Registrar that they had known each other for around three years after moving to Britain from Pakistan on student visas and had been living together in South Yorkshire for about a year.

A relative of couple told, “The couple did not have an Islamic marriage ceremony, known as a nikah, as they could not find an imam to conduct what would have been a controversial ceremony. The couple have had their lives threatened both here and in Pakistan and there is no way they could ever return there.”

The relatives of the couple have said that the girls received threats from their relatives in Pakistan as well as the UK.

The Home Office said it was unable to confirm any details about their political asylum request.