Camp to help Pakistani nationals seeking Indian citizenship

KANPUR: A camp was organised here today to help Pakistani nationals seeking Indian citizenship in the application process.

On the direction of the Uttar Pradesh government, similar camps were also organised at police lines in Bareilly and Gorakhpur.

These camps will help Pakistani nationals, especially women who are married to Indian citizens and have been staying in India on long-term visas, obtain Indian citizenship.

At the camp in Kanpur, only five people -- all Pakistani women married to Indians -- have expressed their desire to take up Indian citizenship, although 40 people have enquired about the process.

Verification of documents of interested people is being carried out at the camp organised here.

"The camp was organised on the directions of the UP government for Pakistani citizens who have been staying in India on long-term visas," Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) Circle Officer Avadesh Pandey told PTI.

According to LIU records, Kanpur has 64 Pakistani citizens, mostly women married to residents of Kanpur. These also include men involved in business here with their relatives and married to Indian women.