Sindh

Afghan woman seeks citizenship

Nazi married a Pakistani citizen Mir Hussain, and the couple have three children

Our Correspondent February 25, 2023

A displaced Afghan woman holds her child as she waits with other women to receive aid supply outside an UNCHR distribution center on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday sought a report from the Ministry of Interior while hearing a plea submitted by a woman of Afghan ancestry seeking Pakistani citizenship. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the client was born in Pakistan to Afghan nationals. Nazi married a Pakistani citizen Mir Hussain, and the couple have three children.

The interior minister has asked the petitioner to surrender her Afghan passport and get a domicile certificate in order to get citizenship, the counsel told the court. The deputy commissioner told us that domicile certified cannot be issued to the residents of another province despite being a Pakistani citizen, and hence it was out of the question to issue it to someone who was a national of another country, the counsel told the court.

The court sought a detailed report the interior ministry, including whether the requirement of domicile was a law or a policy, and adjourned the hearing till March 22.

Defamation case

The Federal Investigation Agency’s cybercrime wing has yet to remove objectionable content posted on the internet against actor Mehwish Hayat, her counsel told the SHC on Friday.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto heard the petitions of actors Mehwish Hayat and Kubra Khan against YouTuber Adil Farooq Raja. Hayat’s counsel submitted that the FIA had failed to take any action over the objectionable content. The FIA officials in their progress report said that the matter had been forwarded to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block all accounts maligning the actor.

fdefaSocial media platforms including YouTube, Twitter and Instagram had been asked to block accounts defaming the two actors. Upon this, the court adjourned the hearing for four weeks. The petition contends that Raja made false allegations against four actors, which tarnished their reputation. In a video, Raja had shared initials claiming to be of leading models and actors who he said had illicit relations with high ranking officers.