Pakistan has finally given a citizenship certificate for Sumaira, a lady languishing in an Indian prison camp, clearing the way for her return to Pakistan with her kid shortly.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed stated on Thursday that his ministry has given a citizenship certificate for Sumaira, who is suffering in a detention camp in the Indian city of Bangalore, following verification of her family tree by the National Database and Regulatory Authority (Nadra).
He said they had forwarded the certificate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi will provide a travel permit to her, enabling her to return to Pakistan together with her four-year-old daughter.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui addressed the problem of the Pakistani-origin mother languishing in a Bangalore detention camp along with her daughter in the Senate on Monday.
According to a BBC story, her family carrying Pakistani citizenship was living in Qatar. There, a Pakistani girl named Sumaira married an Indian male who moved her to India without a visa.
Later, Sumaira was arrested and sentenced to three years in jail. Two months later, she gave birth to a baby girl. Her spouse left her while she was in detention.
After her release from jail, Sumaira is living at a Bangalore detention camp with her daughter.
Sumaira’s lawyer Sahana Biswa Patna claimed she had been attempting to contact the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi and the foreign ministry in Pakistan for the past six months to verify Sumaira’s citizenship, but to no avail.
While expressing compassion for the case of an Indian girl, Muskaan, Senator Siddiqui, had urged in the Senate that “something should also be done for Pakistan’s daughter Sumaira”.
He requested the Leader of the House in Senate, Dr Shahzad Wasim, to take up the issue with the administration.
The Senate chairman made a decision that Senator Siddiqui and the leader of the house should figure out a plan of action in this respect.
Senator Siddiqui brought the topic in the parliament on Thursday, when the opposition members were staging a walkout.
According to a statement he made in parliament on February 14, “I highlighted the problem on Feb. 14… and five days later, the foreign ministry or administration have mentioned nothing about Sumaira.” Also, the PML-N senator claimed the government’s “indifference” to Sumaira and her daughter’s predicament was “disgusting”.
“They imprisoned her for four years before being released. Nobody rushed to her aid. When she was released from prison, the citizens of Bangalore raised and paid Rs100,000 in fines for her, while our embassy in Delhi stayed sleeping.”
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Muhammad Khan vowed in response to deal with the issue. The administration would note this matter and keep parliament updated on its progress, he said.
Senator Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar backed Senator Siddiqui’s call for action. Sen. John McCain then ordered that Sumaira’s interior and foreign ministries provide daily progress updates to the Senate Secretariat.
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ [email protected]
