FIR against UP woman & daughter over illegal stay without Indian citizenship, ISI links

MEERUT: A case has been registered at Delhi Gate police station of Meerut against a woman and her daughter for allegedly residing in India for a prolonged period without Indian citizenship.The action follows a police inquiry based on a complaint filed by a local resident. Authorities stated that the allegations are currently under investigation.According to complainant Rukhsana, Farhat Masood traveled to Pakistan in 1988 and married a Pakistani national, Saba alias Naji (now 56). It is alleged that Saba later came to India and, in 1993, brought their daughter Aiman Farhat (now 33), who was born in Pakistan, into the country on a Pakistani passport.The complaint claims that Indian citizenship was never obtained for the daughter. The complaint further alleges that the mother and daughter procured identity documents on the basis of forged papers and used them for travel purposes. Rukhsana also raised serious allegations that Saba's relatives have links with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and expressed suspicion that the two may have gathered information from sensitive locations in India.SP (City) Ayush Vikram Singh, "On the basis of a preliminary inquiry, a case has been filed and Saba Masood has been arrested. Investigation is on about other allegations, and action will be taken accordingly."The case was filed under BNS sections 318 (4) (cheating), 336 (3) forgery, 340(2) using forget documents as genuine and 351 (criminal intimidation).The family, however, refuted the charges. "My mother travelled to Pakistan when she was eight-month pregnant. She was supposed to return before the delivery, but experienced labour pains in the eight month and Aiman was born prematurely. The mother could not have come back without the infant and the Indian consulate gave permission to travel. Besides, as per the Section 3 of the Indian Citizenship Act, a child's citizenship is decided by the citizenship of her father. So, automatically Aiman becomes an Indian citizen," said Faraz Farhat, Aiman's brother and lawyer representing the family's case.Regarding the allegations of ISI links, Farhat said, "These allegations are baseless." Notably, TOI had covered a report in 2019 -- ‘27 years after marriage with Meerut man, Pak woman awaits Indian Citizenship' – in which it had highlighted how Saba Farhat (Aiman's mother) had been waiting for Indian citizenship for the last 27 years.The family sources also revealed that the matter was raked up due to a family dispute pertaining to the legacy of the pioneers of the band industry -- Nadir Ali -- that Meerut is famous for.