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An American woman who became a social media sensation after flying to Pakistan to marry a teenager has finally left the country, reports say.
Onijah Andrew Robinson, 33, traveled to Karachi in October last year to meet and marry Nidal Ahmed Memon – a 19-year-old Pakistani man.
The New Yorker was ultimately rejected by the teenager, after his family is said to have objected to their relationship. Ms Robinson’s 30 day visa reportedly expired in November but she refused to leave the country, with her plight going viral thanks to clips widely shared on Instagram and TikTok.
Now, some four months later, local media says she has finally left Pakistan. Pakistani outlet Geo News stated that Ms Robinson boarded a flight from Karachi on Friday, with footage showing local police seeing her off at the airport.
The News International – one of the country’s largest English language newspapers – said that a medical board had declared her fit to travel having discharged her from a stay in hospital. She was persuaded to return home by US consulate staff in Karachi, who also arranged her ticket, the newspaper added.
But to further muddy the waters in the strange saga, videos were posted to social media on Monday claiming to be of Ms Robinson in Dubai. Her flight home to the US on Friday was via Dubai, News International said, but in one Instagram clip she is seen posing for selfies with a large group of smiling men surrounding her on an outside street.
A caption on the clip says Ms Robinson had “attracted a new fanbase in Dubai”.
During her extended stay in Pakistan, she held a bizarre press conference in which she asked the government for “100k or more”, claiming it was to improve vital services in the country such as infrastructure and local transport.
In another, she asked for “two thousand or more every week”, “more than five thousand dollars in USD”, “I want 20K up front, 5K-10K to stay here every week, and I want those demands from the government right away”, according to the spate of videos that were circulated on TikTok.
The Independent has contacted the US consulate in Karachi for comment.
