A mother-of-four who said she endured years of hell in an arranged marriage and lost two of her children in a house fire is desperate to get her old life back in Banbury.

British-born Asma Akhtar and her children were forced to stay in Pakistan by her husband Muhammed, 36, when a family holiday in April 2007 turned into a nightmare.

He seized their travel documents and told 28-year-old Mrs Akhtar and their children, Haleema Akhtar, nine, Ali Zamurad, six, Hajrah Akhtar, five, and Haider Zamurad, four, Rauualpindi was their new home.

Mrs Akhtar, who had been training to be a teacher and worked at St Leonards School, in Banbury, tried to get help from the High Commission and Foreign Office, but to no avail.

Her IT engineer husband also took out an injunction, which meant the children’s names were added to a database preventing them from leaving the country.

But Mrs Akhtar fled her husband’s family home and moved with the children to a women’s refuge in Islamabad — about 30 minutes away.

The couple, who had an arranged marriage 12 years ago, spent months in a custody battle, which ended in stalemate. Mrs Akhtar reluctantly agreed to stay in Pakistan, but in October last year there was a suspected arson attack on her home in Islamabad in which Ali and Hajrah died.

Afterwards, Mrs Akhtar borrowed money and bribed officials to take her other two children off the database so they could leave the country.

She is currently living in Rochdale, Lancashire, with her parents, but wants her old life back in Banbury, where she believes she can bring stability to her remaining two children’s lives.

She criticised the Foreign Office for failing to do enough and now plans to lodge an official complaint.

Mrs Akhtar said: “I lived in a women’s shelter and applied to the Foreign Office telling them I was under threat and my husband had threatened to kill me.

“I told them I was in imminent danger, but nobody was listening. I’m still very angry about that — the way I see it the Foreign Office could have done something.

“I want my home back and the kids to go back to school. I really like Banbury. I have lost everything.”

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it had to act in line with Pakistani law. She said: "This was a tragic case in very difficult circumstances and we offer our sincere condolences to Mrs Akhtar.

“The welfare of Mrs Akhtar and her children was a priority.

“Consular officials in Islamabad and our specialist child abduction section in London provided consular advice and assistance from the beginning. We also raised her case with the Pakistani government.”