Sania Mirza marries Shoaib Malik

Hyderabad, Apr 12 (ANI): Despite hullabaloo and the interference of community leaders, ace tennis star Sania Mirza finally tied the nuptial knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik at Hotel Taj Krishna here on Monday afternoon.

Sources said only close family relatives attended the 'nikah' of the two sports stars.

It was reported that only 70 people were in attendance at the 'nikah' ceremony.

Sania was clad in a red saree given to her by her mother, while Shoaib wore a black sherwani designed by Shantanu and Nikhil.

The Mehandi function will now be held tomorrow, Sangeet on April 14 and reception will be held on April 15 as scheduled.

It has been reported that the reception would be a gala event, with celebrities from both India and Pakistan expected to line-up there.

The Sunni Ulema Board had issued a fatwa on Sunday, thereby further adding to Sania's pre-marital woes.

The fatwa claimed that it's un-Islamic for a man and woman to live under the same roof before 'nikah', and lashed out at the tennis star and her groom-to-be Shoaib Malik, who has been reportedly staying at the Mirza residence for over a week.

"It's un-Islamic for a man and woman to see each other during the ceremonies before the 'nikah'. Therefore, what they (Sania and Shoaib) are doing is not correct," said Sunni Ulema Board General Secretary Hasibul Hassan.

Sania's father Imran Mirza had earlier on Friday said the pre-wedding ceremonies would start off from April 13.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik had on Sunday asked Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik to request the Indian authorities to return Shoaib's passport, which was seized after Ayesha Siddiqui claimed to be his wife and filed a police complaint against him.

The two sports personalities are expected to settle in Dubai. (ANI)