(From left) Fatima Bibi, her sister Mumtaj and daughter Heena with Pakistan High Commission counsellor Fauzia Manzoor and the lawyer at the Amritsar Central Jail on Monday. Tribune photo
GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 21
Born in the Amritsar Central Jail in 2006, 11-year-old Heena is now set to return to her country after the Pakistani authorities cleared her citizenship status today.
Pakistan’s High Commission counsellor Fauzia Manzoor today visited her mother Fatima Bibi and aunt Mumtaj — both arrested on May 8, 2006, and sentenced to 10-year imprisonment for possessing drugs — in the jail, along with their lawyer Navjot Kaur Chabba, who fought their legal battle for free.
Chabba said the trio would return to their homeland soon. “The court had relaxed Heena out of the case, but as she was born in Amritsar there was a technical hitch over her citizenship. Fatima, too, was reluctant to send her back alone. The Pakistani counsellor today officially endorsed Heena’s nationality and furnished requisite documentation. Now, I am trying to procure the NoC (no objection certificate) from the Ministry of Home Affairs as the next step to facilitate their repatriation to their native place,” she said.
The two sisters, Fatima and Mumtaj, had completed their jail term in November 2015, but had been serving an extra term despite paying Rs4 lakh fine through Batala-based NGO Sarbat Da Bhala Humanity Club.
Fatima belongs to Gujranwala, while Mumtaj, who is unmarried, is a resident of Sikandrabad. On May 8, 2006, they had boarded the Samjhauta Express to proceed to Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh to meet their maternal uncles but were arrested at the Attari Railway Station for possessing drugs.
They had argued in the court that the 400-gram smack seized from their train compartment belonged to a fellow passenger, but the court pronounced their conviction.
“Whenever I visited them in jail, Heena would request me to arrange for their repatriation at the earliest. I utilised my contacts and Batala NGO chief Navtej Singh Gaggu, came forward to pay the fine on their behalf,” said Chabba.
Minor finally accepted as Pak national
- Born in the Amritsar Central Jail in 2006, 11-year-old Heena will visit Pakistan for the first time after the Pakistani authorities cleared her citizenship status on Monday
- On May 8, 2006, her mother Fatima Bibi and aunt Mumtaj were arrested and sentenced to 10-year imprisonment for possessing drugs
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