Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar has taken notice of a Pakistani women and her daughter detained in Indian jails since 2012.
Pakistani woman named Rubina had gone from Hyderabad (Sindh) to India along with her husband and her little daughter for treatment in 2012. But her husband left her in Delhi and disappeared with her travel documents.Rubeena, now in her late twenties, had allegedly visited Delhi in November 2012 for the treatment of asthma. She had been accompanied by her husband and four-month-old daughter.
Hindustan Times quoted Rubina claims that her husband abandoned her in Delhi and disappeared with their money and passport.
Nisar has directed the authorities to verify the whereabouts of the woman within 48 hours, a spokesperson for the interior ministry said.
He also ordered his ministry to approach the foreign ministry and take measures to bring her back “if she is proven to be a Pakistani citizen.”
The Hindustan Times report quoted human rights lawyer Mir Shafaqat, who is fighting Rubeena’s case in an Indian court, as saying that he met her accidentally during a visit to Jammu’s Kot Bhalwal Jail in 2014. The mother-daughter duo is currently lodged in Jammu’s Amphalla jail.
“Taking pity on the plight of the mother and daughter, some people in Delhi contributed from their pockets and asked her to go to Wagah border but [she] was not allowed to travel by Pakistani authorities for lack of proper documents.
“Some people then told her to go to Jammu where she was arrested by security forces at Kanachak on November 6, 2012 and was booked under section 14 of the Foreigners’ Act (foreigner travelling without documents),” Shafaqat was quoted as saying.
Rubina is said to be a resident of Hyderabad.