Pakistan-origin spouses of former Kashmiri freedom-fighters have reiterated their protest demanding travel documents for enabling them to visit their parents in Pakistan.
News agency KNO reported that the aggrieved Pakistani women marched in protest from the Press enclave Srinagar towards the Clock Tower in the city centre.
They accused the Indian government of giving them a cold shoulder regarding their genuine demands. “We will continue to protest till our demands are not met and till our last breath,” Saira, an aggrieved Pakistani woman said.
“If the Indian government does not accept us, they should deport us to Pakistan. In the first place, they should accept us because our husbands are Kashmiris and we have not committed any crime by marrying them,” she said.
She argued if the Indian government can provide citizenship to Pakistani singer Adnan Sami, why it had singled them out. “Have we committed any crime by marrying Kashmiris? The Indian government is behaving with us as if we are terrorists,” she said.
She said that the government should accept them as they have children and have families. “Even Sania Mirza married a Pakistani cricketer and she is now a Pakistani national but she continues to represent India, then why cannot we be provided citizenship,” a protesting woman remarked.
The protesters said that their demands are just and the Indian government must listen to them.