NHRC astonished at long delays in granting citizenship to Pakistani Hindus

JALANDHAR: Hundreds of Hindus who migrated from Pakistan to escape persecution and discrimination around two decades back are still awaiting Indian citizenship. National Human Rights Commission has expressed astonishment at the long delay in granting them citizenship even as they came and settled over 18 years back. The Commission has also asked the Ministry of Home Affairs as to how soon will it be able to process requests of the Pakistani Hindus to grant them citizenship.
“The Commission fails to understand as to why some hindus who left Pakistan and came to India in the year 1996 and whose probability of going back to Pakistan is practically non-existent are continuously living in India on a long term visa, while, even after 18 years of arrival in the country, they have not been granted citizenship,” NHRC noted in its order in October last year which has now been sent to All India Hindu Shiv Sena President Surinder Kumar Billa for his comments as he had sent a complaint to the Commission in March 2013 about the issue.
Billa, who has been pursuing the issue for the last couple of years, in his complaint had pointed out that around 150 members of 20 Hindu families who had come from Sialkot and settled in three villages of district Ambala, Haryana had neither been granted citizenship nor refugee status and they were facing hardships. Taking cognizance of the complaint NHRC had sought report of action taken from concerned authorities of MHA.
After examining the response from MHA and Commissioner Ambala division, the Commission also held that it “is of the view that due process should have been completed long back and all those who are eligible to become citizens of India should have been given citizenship”.
It has also asked as to how soon would MHA be able to get the request of Pakistani Hindus for citizenship processed for whom India has already become a home so that they can avail all the benefits.
It may be mentioned here that several Pakistani Hindus are living in Jalandhar also and they are awaiting Indian citizenship. Most of them living here are hardly making both ends meet and even their succeeding generation is bearing the brunt and most of their children have not gotten much education.