NEW DELHI- A 37-year-old Pakistani national, who was illegally staying inIndia since he was about 10 years of age, has been deported to theneighbouring country, a police official said today.
Siraj Khan, the Pakistani national, was staying in the Antop Hill areahere. He had also got married to an Indian woman some years ago and thecouple have three children, the police official said.
“Since all the cases against Khan were disposed of by the court and onecase of violation of a detention order was withdrawn by the government, hewas deported to Pakistan on March 12,” Bhagwat Bansod, senior inspector atthe Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg police station here, said.ADVERTISEMENT
A police team took Khan to the Attari border at Amritsar in Punjab, fromwhere he was deported after the completion of all the formalities at theforeign regional registration office, he added.
The Indian government had informed the Pakistani authorities about Khan’sdeportation and after obtaining a no-objection certificate, he was handedover to them, an official said.
The police had also informed about Khan’s deportation to his wife SajidaKhan, who accompanied her husband till the Bandra Terminus in the westernsuburbs, from where he and the police team boarded the train for Amritsaron March 10, he added.
Before Khan’s departure, his wife took selfies with him at the railwaystation, a police official said. In June 2014, a division bench of theBombay High Court had put a month’s stay on Khan’s deportation to Pakistan.
The court had then observed that since Khan’s application, seeking Indiancitizenship, was pending before the Ministry of External Affairs, hisdetention must be stayed until the issue was decided.
Khan’s wife had filed the plea, seeking a stay on her husband’sdeportation. She had also sought that Khan be released from detention ashis family’s financial, physical and mental condition was worsening.
Khan’s wife approached the Bombay High Court again yesterday, seeking astay on his deportation. However, a bench of justices R M Savant and S VKotwal held that since Khan had been convicted under the Foreigners Act,his deportation was inevitable.
The court has kept the petition for hearing on March 20. As per the plea ofKhan’s wife, the Pakistani national had accidentally entered India in 1996when he was 10 or 11 years of age.
In 2009, however, he had tried to visit his native village in Azad Kashmir.
When he approached the police for help to get to his village, he was askedto furnish legal documents, showing that he was a Pakistani national. Hewas subsequently arrested by the Crime Branch for staying in India withouta valid permission, according to the petition.
Khan was released after serving a six-month jail term, but in January 2014,a court here convicted him under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and ordered thathe be deported to Pakistan.
He had been in custody since his conviction. A police official said it wasnow up to Khan to get a passport and visa and come to India or take hiswife and children to Pakistan on valid documents.