Pakistani couple: Newborn gets parents stranded in India
Mother not allowed to return to Pakistan as her 10-day-old baby boy doesn’t have travel documents.
Mother not allowed to return to Pakistan as her 10-day-old baby boy doesn’t have travel documents. PHOTO: FILE
SUKKUR:
The family of a Pakistani couple stuck in India due to the absence of their newborn’s travel documents has expressed hope that authorities will help the new mother and her 10-day-old baby boy to return home soon.
According to reports in Indian newspapers, Fatima and her husband Mir Muhammad Mahar of Nuhundi village near Ghotki went to Jaisalmer in the Indian state of Rajasthan to visit relatives three months ago along with their five-year-old-son. Fatima was seven-month pregnant at the time of travel and gave birth to a boy on April 14 while she was in India.
The Indian authorities stopped the couple as they were on their way back to Pakistan three days ago. When Fatima and Mir were asked about the identity and documents of the newborn, the couple failed to produce the papers as they were given only a birth certificate at the hospital where the baby was delivered.
However, the Indian authorities did not allow them to cross into Pakistan, leaving the couple stuck in the neighbouring country.
When contacted, an elder of the Mahar tribe, Muhammad Ismail Mahar confirmed the incident to The Express Tribune. “Fatima was seven-month pregnant and, therefore, everybody asked her to postpone her visit till the birth of the child but she didn’t listen. She left for India with her husband and son to see her maternal uncles,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the Pakistani authorities will help the couple,” he added.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi, Abdul Basit, on Sunday said that the High Commission will register the name and other details of the newborn baby as soon as the woman contacts them and verifies her Pakistani origin with documents.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2014.
The family of a Pakistani couple stuck in India due to the absence of their newborn’s travel documents has expressed hope that authorities will help the new mother and her 10-day-old baby boy to return home soon.
According to reports in Indian newspapers, Fatima and her husband Mir Muhammad Mahar of Nuhundi village near Ghotki went to Jaisalmer in the Indian state of Rajasthan to visit relatives three months ago along with their five-year-old-son. Fatima was seven-month pregnant at the time of travel and gave birth to a boy on April 14 while she was in India.
The Indian authorities stopped the couple as they were on their way back to Pakistan three days ago. When Fatima and Mir were asked about the identity and documents of the newborn, the couple failed to produce the papers as they were given only a birth certificate at the hospital where the baby was delivered.
However, the Indian authorities did not allow them to cross into Pakistan, leaving the couple stuck in the neighbouring country.
When contacted, an elder of the Mahar tribe, Muhammad Ismail Mahar confirmed the incident to The Express Tribune. “Fatima was seven-month pregnant and, therefore, everybody asked her to postpone her visit till the birth of the child but she didn’t listen. She left for India with her husband and son to see her maternal uncles,” he said.
“We are hopeful that the Pakistani authorities will help the couple,” he added.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi, Abdul Basit, on Sunday said that the High Commission will register the name and other details of the newborn baby as soon as the woman contacts them and verifies her Pakistani origin with documents.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2014.