200 Pakistani Hindus came to India with visitor’s visa, some did not wish to go back
Around 200 Pakistani Hindus crossed Attari-Wagah border with Visitor’s visa and came to India on Monday. According to official sources, some of them did not wish to go back. Some of them claimed that they felt unsafe in Pakistan and hoped to get India citizenship after the enactment of the CAA. Akali leader and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjinder Singh Sirsa was at the border to receive four families who he claimed had “fled” Pakistan due to religious persecution.
Border officials claim the number of Hindus travellers from Pakistani using this border crossing has increased significantly over the past month. The Citizenship Amendment Act envisages giving Indian nationality to members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution there.
Punjab: 50 Hindu families from Pakistan arrived in India today via Wagah-Attari border on a 25-day visa to visit Haridwar. Laxman Das, a Pakistani Hindu says, “after taking holy dip in Haridwar, I will think about my future. However, I want to stay in India.” pic.twitter.com/l25wiuTBhT
— ANI (@ANI) February 3, 2020
Most of the travellers crossing over to India on Monday belonged to Sindh and Karachi areas. Some of them carried luggage and said they will seek asylum in India.
One of the Pakistani Hindus on the condition of anonymity said after the enactment of the new citizenship law, Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan and Afghanistan were “optimistic” of getting Indian citizenship. Most of them were travelling to Rajasthan to meet their relatives.
“We are not feeling safe in Pakistan. Our girls feel insecure as they fear that they could be kidnapped any time by hardliners while police watch as mute spectators. Our girls cannot walk freely in the north-west area of Pakistan,” said a woman.
Two more women, without disclosing their names, told that kidnapping of Hindu girls had become a routine affair in Pakistan and no family dared to lodge a complaint with police against fundamentalists.
Meanwhile, Akali leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said he was at the border crossing to receive four families who “fled” Pakistan.
पाकिस्तान से प्रताड़ित होकर आये एक हिंदू डाक्टर परिवार को मैंने बार्डर पर Receive किया
उन्होंने अपनी आपबीती और दुखी हालत जो बताई उसे सुनकर हम सबके रोंगटे खड़े हो गये!मैं @AmitShah जी से उस परिवार की तरफ से विनती करता हूँ कि इन्हें जल्द ही भारत की नागरिकता दी जाये @PTI_News @ANI https://t.co/oPFiwxgrae pic.twitter.com/JCYYlT990I
— Manjinder S Sirsa (@mssirsa) February 3, 2020
Sirsa said he would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday and requested him to grant them Indian citizenship.
Sirsa tweeted that 4 Hindu-Sikh families have fled Pakistan to save their life and religious faith. He received the family members today at the border. They are meeting HM Amit Shah Ji tomorrow to request him to grant them citizenship at the earliest possible.