Loc Divides Mother and Children
PoK woman awaits passport, visa to meet family in Poonch
Ashutosh Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, July 21
A woman from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), married in Poonch district, who was allegedly deported to Pakistan more than a year ago, is awaiting the issuance of a fresh passport and visa for visiting her family. Her four children and husband here have appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart to let the family reunite.
Wahida Tabasum (44) from Muzaffarabad in PoK married Shah Pervez, a resident of Khaith village in the Sawjian area of Poonch district, in 1985 when Pervez, along with his family,went there to meet his relatives. She came to Poonch with Pervez in 1986.She was living in Poonch on an extended visa and reportedly returned to Pakistan on the expiry of her passport on April 8 last year by the Lahore-Delhi bus service.
“During her stay here, my mother applied for Indian citizenship thrice, but the Indian government rejected her applications,” said Khurram Mehmood (22), her eldest son.
He added that, “My mother is at present living at her maternal house at Qila Road, Muzaffarabad. Whenever she talks to us over the phone, she seems to be in a miserable condition. She is desperate to meet us. She always cries while talking. I and my siblings are equally distressed as the wait is becoming too long.”
“My mother says the Indian Embassy in Pakistan is not processing her documents for unknown reasons,” Mehmood said. He appealed to the Prime Minister and his Pakistan counterpart to intervene to help his mother unite with her family. Wahida’s youngest son, Kashif Omar, is 15 years’ old.
“A lot of stress is being laid on people-to-people contact among SAARC countries. But it is a question of family-to-family contact,” said general secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Pushkar Raaj. “Also, it is a human issue. We have military, political and strategic issues with Pakistan, but they need to be resolved at different levels. This is an issue pertaining to a divided family and hence it should be addressed without any reference to the outstanding issues. Differences between nations over policy matters should not make their nationals suffer,” he added.
PoK woman awaits passport, visa to meet family in Poonch
Ashutosh Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, July 21
A woman from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), married in Poonch district, who was allegedly deported to Pakistan more than a year ago, is awaiting the issuance of a fresh passport and visa for visiting her family. Her four children and husband here have appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart to let the family reunite.Wahida Tabasum (44) from Muzaffarabad in PoK married Shah Pervez, a resident of Khaith village in the Sawjian area of Poonch district, in 1985 when Pervez, along with his family,went there to meet his relatives. She came to Poonch with Pervez in 1986.She was living in Poonch on an extended visa and reportedly returned to Pakistan on the expiry of her passport on April 8 last year by the Lahore-Delhi bus service.
“During her stay here, my mother applied for Indian citizenship thrice, but the Indian government rejected her applications,” said Khurram Mehmood (22), her eldest son.
He added that, “My mother is at present living at her maternal house at Qila Road, Muzaffarabad. Whenever she talks to us over the phone, she seems to be in a miserable condition. She is desperate to meet us. She always cries while talking. I and my siblings are equally distressed as the wait is becoming too long.”
“My mother says the Indian Embassy in Pakistan is not processing her documents for unknown reasons,” Mehmood said. He appealed to the Prime Minister and his Pakistan counterpart to intervene to help his mother unite with her family. Wahida’s youngest son, Kashif Omar, is 15 years’ old.
“A lot of stress is being laid on people-to-people contact among SAARC countries. But it is a question of family-to-family contact,” said general secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Pushkar Raaj. “Also, it is a human issue. We have military, political and strategic issues with Pakistan, but they need to be resolved at different levels. This is an issue pertaining to a divided family and hence it should be addressed without any reference to the outstanding issues. Differences between nations over policy matters should not make their nationals suffer,” he added.
“It’s the rarest of rare cases as the family is divided by the LoC,” chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission Syed Bashir-ud-Din said, adding, “Government should adopt a very positive approach to reunite the family within parameters of paramount laws."
When contacted, SSP,CID, Special Branch, Jammu, Gurvinder Kaur,who is in-charge of the Foreigners Registration Office,said Wahida had not been deported. “Her passport had expired and she went to Pakistan on her own on an emergency passport which she got from the Pakistan Embassy in Delhi. A new passport is to be issued by the Pakistan Government as she is a national of that country and only the visa is to be issued by the Indian Embassy in Pakistan.”
“We have not received her visa for verification so far,” she said, adding, “Wahida was not wanted in any case pertaining to anti-national or subversive activities.”
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