56 Pakistani minority community members awarded Indian citizenship

Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi on Dec 11 handed out Indian citizenship certificates to 56 Pakistani minority citizens at a camp.

According to an official statement, a total of 1,223 such citizenship certificates have been issued in Ahmedabad under the provisions of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act between 2017 and 2024.

The statement quoted Sanghavi as saying to the new citizens, “Today, you can make India your land of work, even though you were born in Pakistan. Many minority families who migrated from Pakistan have achieved progress in various fields and contributed to society’s development. Their children are excelling in higher education. The Central and state governments have worked together to provide a new identity to Hindu families migrating from Pakistan.”

The event was attended by MLAs Payal Kukrani, Amul Bhatt, Amit Shah, Dinesh Kushwaha, and Babusingh Jadav along with Deputy Mayor of Ahmedabad Jatin Patel and Standing Committee Chairman of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Devang Dani among others.

Some of the recipients of the Indian citizenship shared their experiences and gratitude for the government’s efforts on the occasion.