Spain rescues Barcelona woman from forced marriage in Pakistan and arrests two relatives

Repatriation from Pakistan

Spanish police repatriated a Spanish woman of Pakistani origin to Barcelona after she spent nearly a year confined in Pakistan under a forced marriage arrangement. The joint operation was conducted by Catalonia's regional police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, and the Spanish National Police. Working alongside the Spanish Embassy in Pakistan, investigators located the woman, secured her release from captivity, and coordinated her safe return flight to Spain. Regional authorities announced on 26 September 2026 that the victim had arrived in Catalonia and was receiving assistance from specialized social and psychological services. The rescue operation ended months of captivity that began when the woman was deceived into traveling abroad by members of her own family.

Deception and confinement

The victim met her partner, a Pakistani national who owns an IT and computer shop in Barcelona, in 2022 before beginning a relationship in 2023. In June 2025, the couple formalised a religious union in Spain, which her family refused to accept. Relatives subjected the woman to intense pressure and death threats, demanding that she break off the relationship and travel to Pakistan to marry a cousin. In September 2025, a relative persuaded her that her family was ready to resolve the dispute and accept her marriage if she visited Pakistan. She made the journey accompanied by her paternal uncle, but family members confiscated her Spanish passport immediately upon arrival. Relatives detained her inside a family residence under continuous surveillance for months, compelling her to marry her cousin against her wishes.

Barcelona knife attack and investigation

While the woman was held in Pakistan, relatives targeted her partner in Barcelona with death threats delivered through third parties who warned him that his physical safety was in danger. In December 2025, two male relatives ambushed the computer shop owner in Barcelona and assaulted him with a knife in an attempted homicide before fleeing. The partner survived the stabbing and reported the crime to the Spanish National Police, detailing both the armed assault and the forced transfer of his wife to Pakistan. He alerted detectives that relatives had seized her Spanish passport and were holding her captive to impose an unwanted marriage. The formal complaint prompted the Mossos d'Esquadra and the National Police to open a joint cross-border investigation in coordination with consular authorities.

Airport arrests and ongoing inquiry

The investigation resulted in the arrest of two male suspects, aged 41 and 45, at Barcelona airport on 21 July 2026. Spanish prosecutors charged both men with human trafficking for the purpose of forced marriage and investigated their direct involvement in the December 2025 knife attack against the victim's partner. In Pakistan, Spanish National Police officers attached to the diplomatic mission carried out the necessary arrangements to recover the woman from the residence where she was detained. Following her repatriation to Spain, dedicated victim support units provided medical and psychological assistance. Police confirmed that investigations remain ongoing to establish the full extent of the family network and identify any additional individuals involved in the trafficking plot.