With thaw in relations between India and Pakistan there is hope of better Indo-Pak ties, and who is praying the hardest for this – 356 brides from Pakistan who are awaiting Indian citizenship after their marriage with India grooms.
Officials in Uttar Pradesh Government admit that there might be thousands of women from Pakistan who are married to Indian men and are staying here illegally but officially the figure is 356 – where Pakistani brides have sought Indian citizenship after their marriage to Indian youth. Almost all the districts have Pakistani brides but Aligarh has officially maximum 42 women who are craving for Indian passport.
“In majority of these cases we have sent the initial report to the Ministry of External Affairs. The ball rests with the Union Government and they will have to take a call,” an official in the Department of Home Affairs said.
After recent meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani counter-part Nawaz Shariff there is hope among the family members having brides from Pakistan that relations between two countries will improve. “There seems sincerity between Indian and Pakistan to resolve issues and promote personal relations. If this happens the Pakiatani women married to Indian men could get Indian citizenship very soon,” Parvez Rehman Siddiqui, a trader said.
“We have high hopes from Modi. His initiative to invite SAARC leaders to attend his swearing in ceremony was commendable,” he said and added: “It is a known fact that during BJP regime India and Pakistan always enjoy good relations.”
Parevez’s bhabhi Shamma is from Karachi in Pakistan. The marriage took place in 2004 and since then they are running from pillar to post to get Indian citizenship for Shamma. She now lives on long term visa that needs to be renewed every three years .
What makes these families hopeful that is that in 2005 over 3000 families in Kutch in Gujarat gained Indian citizenship, after Indian government decided that Pakistani Hindus who had lived in these areas for over five years could get Indian citizenship, In that region also Pakiatani girls get married to Indian men. The reason there is different. People driven by poverty opt to switch over to Indian side of border and majority of them are Hindus. People believe Modi played a crucial role in this.
“The order was Hindu specific but with thaw in relations between two countries both India and Pakistan should grant visas to bonafide brides in their sides,” Pervze said.
Anwar Hussain, an OSD of lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh’s Koli constituency Jameerulla married Rehana of Faiz Begh of Pakistan. Rehana is hopeful that her application of Indian cictizenship would be accepted post-Sharif visit.
“It is nice to see two Prime Ministers shacking hands … the ice will melt and soon I will be officially Indian citizen. Inshah Allah!,” she said.