Pakistani lady Sumaira issued citizenship confirmation letter

The interior ministry on Thursday issued a citizenship confirmation letter to Pakistani-origin lady Sumaira who was detained and imprisoned by authorities in India on the charge of unlawfully entering the country, reported 24NewsHD TV Channel.

The citizenship confirmation letter was issued to the lady after getting her family record examined from National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

After her citizenship confirmation, the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi will provide essential documents to Sumaira to enable her to travel to Pakistan.

Earlier, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui had highlighted, on the floor of the Parliament, the problem of a Pakistani-origin lady languishing in an Indian detention centre with her four-year-old kid.

He had also sent a request to Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs chairperson Sherry Rehman, urging her to hear the case of the woman.

“Sumaira has been waiting for six months for her Pakistani citizenship to be confirmed, but nothing has been done by the authorities,” he had said.

He had also stated that she would be released by the Indian authorities if her documents were confirmed by the foreign office.

It has been learnt that Sumaira resided in Qatar with her Pakistani parents, and in 2016, she married an Indian Muslim who took her to India without a visa.

In 2017, she was detained and convicted by Indian authorities on suspicion of illegally entering the country and sentenced to three years in prison where she gave birth to a baby girl.

Sumaira’s husband cut all ties with her and stopped visiting her throughout her years in jail. She was sent to a prison centre in Bangalore after her sentence was completed.

Reporter: Awais Kiyani