Let me be Pakistani - pregnant wife’s plea
By Haroon Rashid
BBC correspondent in Peshawar
Dr Aman wants to remain a Muslim wife in Pakistan
An Indian woman who converted to Islam and married a Pakistani man is fighting a battle against bureaucracy to avoid being deported to India.
Twenty-five-year-old Dr Hafsa Aman, formerly Divya Dayanandan, hails from Kerala in southern India.
She met a Pakistani Pashtun man, Aman Khan, in Ukraine in 1995 while both were studying medicine.
They were the same age and they fell in love.
After completing her studies, she followed Aman to Pakistan and married him.
Now she is expecting his child.
Both now live in the small agricultural town of Mardan, some 40 kms from Peshawar, in North West Frontier Province.
‘Happily married’
Her husband filed an application with the Interior Ministry for her to become a Pakistani citizen, but the ministry not only rejected her application, it also asked her to leave the country.
It is me who took a personal step towards better relations between two neighbours by marrying an Indian woman
Aman Khan
Aman Khan filed a case in Peshawar’s High Court seeking justice.
In June the court granted his pregnant wife a stay against deportation and asked the interior ministry to explain why would not grant her citizenship.
But the ministry has yet to reply to the court’s request.
Now the court has given the ministry two more weeks to reply.
Dr Hafsa says she has no regrets over her decision to mount the legal battle and stay with her husband.
“I’m happily married and working as a medical officer at a local hospital,” she told BBC News Online.
The doctor argues that it is unjust that after coming to an Islamic state and converting to Islam, she is being denied citizenship.
“If they force me to go back to India I will have to convert back to Hinduism,” she said.
That is a prospect that does not appeal to Dr Hafsa, who comes from a conservative Hindu family.
“I only spoke a few times with them, but my parents would kill me if I go back,” she said.
“They are not happy with my decision.”
Dr Hafsa says she has had no problems adjusting to life in Pakistan.
Indian background
“Its all the same culture-wise. The only difference is the religion. I converted because I found some truths in Islam.”
Her lawyer, Muhammad Usman Khan Turlandi, told the BBC: “under the terms of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, a woman married to a citizen of Pakistan should be registered as a citizen of the country.”
He said that it was a clear case of discrimination against the couple, especially when Dr Hafsa had given a sworn statement that she was surrendering her Indian nationality and wanted to live with her husband for the rest of her life.
Dr Hafsa says that India and Pakistani culture is the same
But the authorities would not accept her plea.
“I think the only reason for the government’s reluctance is her Indian background. If she was from any other country things would probably have been different,” Mr Turlandi said.
Meanwhile Aman Khan says he is confident his wife will win the case.
“Neither me nor anyone else from my family has a criminal background,” he said.
The couple also hope that the recent thaw in relations between India and Pakistan will help their case.
“It is me who took a personal step towards better relations between two neighbours by marrying an Indian woman,” Aman Khan said.
Dr Hafsa is expecting her child next month, but for the time being the couple remain unsure whether it will be born to an Indian or Pakistani mother.
what kinda childish statements are these? seem made up to me. they contradict the stance of the couple in the case at hand..