New Delhi, June 28: A Hyderabad man on Thursday has requested the Indian government to give citizenship to his sister who had gone to Pakistan in 1955. A 75-year-old Pakistani woman, named Habeeb Unissa Begum, has been allegedly waiting for over 20 years to become an official citizen of India. According to a tweet by ANI, Hyderabad's Toufeeq Ali has requested the government to provide Indian citizenship to his sister who is now in Pakistan.

Ali informed that his sister went to Pakistan in 1955 and as she was unhappy there, she returned after 8 months. During her stay, soon noticed that there were no job opportunities in Pakistan and the couple was struggling to live there.

"My sister Habeeb Unissa's marriage was performed in 1955 in Hyderabad, India and then her husband's brother, who was in Pakistan, took them across the border for better livelihood. They entered into Pakistan through Indo-Pak border illegally and they were staying there," Ali was quoted by ANI.

He informed that her Pakistan passport was cancelled and the family had taken the renunciation letter in 1977 and since then they have been trying  for her Indian citizenship. Ali informed that when his sister wanted to come back to India, Pakistani authorities said border is closed and that she would have to obtain a Pakistani passport.

Toufeeq Ali said since his sister is now 75, she can't afford to pay the fines. “Since the Pakistani authorities denied support, we took the passport but later cancelled it and took renunciation letter”, he added.  Passport woes are unending but External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been very actively supporting people and addressing the concerns of Indian and non-Indians when it comes to passport and citizenship issues.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2018 09:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).