50 Pak Hindu widows get Indian citizenship

New Delhi, Jan 3: Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday accepted applicqations for

from 50 Pak women who have been living in

for past 21 years without valid visa and passport, said

Around 64 families migrated to India after communal tentions broke out in Pakistan due to Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. The families, originally from Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province of Pakistan, settled down in Ellenabad, a small town in Haryana. During their stay, their passport and visa expired.

The applications for citizenship were accepted online last week by sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) after the police found that their residence proof requirements were valid. Bikaner MP Arjun Meghwal and Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar initiated the process of approving the families' citizenship. Thanks to their effort, MHA intervened and communicated the district administration to initiate police verification and other procedures.

However, only 51 out of 64 migrant families are entitled to Indian citizenship as only those applicants whose mother or father were born prior to Partition and had travelled to India prior to December 31, 2004, and refused return to Pakistan could apply.

Oneindia News