Former Indian citizen thanks Pakistan government for renewing her ID card

Dubai: A Sharjah-based woman who renounced her Indian nationality after marrying a Pakistani, thanked the Pakistani government for issuing her “smart ID”.

Kajal Rasheed Khan has been facing an “identity crisis” over the past five months as his identity card has been frozen by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). As a result, his bank accounts in Pakistan were also blocked. She was suffering financially because she could not manage her accounts and make transactions. She also owns properties in Karachi but has not been able to collect her rental income.

She had applied for a renewal of her card on July 31, but it was only renewed when Gulf News released her story to mark her plight in November. His identity card was renewed for ten years from November 25, 2019 to November 25, 2029.

Kajal and her husband Rasheed Khan also thanked Gulf News for bringing the matter to the attention of higher Pakistani authorities to help them resolve their issue.

“I am very happy to receive my new smart card called ‘National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP). I want to thank Gulf News and officials of the relevant authorities in Pakistan for solving my problem, ”Kajal said.

She said she would be traveling to Pakistan soon to “unblock” her bank accounts as she needed them for her real estate transactions in Pakistan.

Rasheed Khan said a NADRA official called him to discuss the matter only after the news broke in Gulf News. They told him that it was normal to take a few months to check the “background” of former Indian citizens. However, he said they made sure that Kajal’s ID card was issued as a priority.

Kajal is also a taxpayer in Pakistan and his name is registered with the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR). Her two children also have Pakistani identity cards and passports.

An architect by profession, Rasheed, 60, arrived in the United Arab Emirates from Karachi about 30 years ago in 1989. He married Kalpana, a Hindu girl, in 1996 in Mumbai. She then changed her name to Kajal and converted to Islam.