M A I N   N E W S

Gujarat to give citizenship to 900 Pak migrants

Ahmedabad, January 2
The Centre has delegated powers to the Gujarat Government to grant citizenship to nearly 900 migrants from Pakistan who have been residing in four districts of the state for the past several years.

A senior Home Department official said today that 900 refugees living in Ahmedabad, Patan, Banaskantha and Kutch districts, mainly of Koli and Sindhi community and those who have lived for a minimum of five years in India would be given citizenship.

The applicants also have to give affidavits stating that they were giving up Pakistani citizenship and also had procured renunciation certificate, the official said.

A thorough check-up of their background was also being done by the four district authorities, he added.

The government has started the process since last November and Mr Naresh Maltani and his sister Anita, who had been living in Maniangar area of the city for the past two decades, were among those who were recently granted citizenship.

Twentyfour-year-old Maltani, who could not mention his nationality till now, said he and his sister feel “completely at home” having got the most important citizenship certificate recently.

Hailing from a Sindhi business community, his father Thakoredas Maltani, a resident of Sakar in Sindh province of Pakistan, had left his homeland to settle in Ahmedabad for better prospects.

“Moreover, minors do not get renunciation certificate immediately so my children were brought to India and we kept on renewing their long-term visas”, Mr Thakoredas said. — PTI