AMRITSAR: Following US president Barack Obama's advice to India for protecting religious freedom during his trip to India, the Pakistani brides living in Qadian, Ahmadiyya Muslim sect's headquarters in India, has blamed Narendra Modi government of religious discrimination and not giving Indian citizenship to Pak brodes despite marrying and living in India for one to three decades. In charge , media, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamat, India, Chaudhary Maqbool Ahmad has written a letter to Modi urging his immediate intervention in the matter and give Indian citizens to Pakistani bride so they could live with pride and enjoy all freedom in India. Maqbool himself had married to resident of Faislabad in Pakistani Tahira Zahoor, now Tahira Maqbool on December 7, 2003. Talking to TOI on Saturday he said the external affair ministry's website was the proof that only a handful of Muslims were given Indian citizenship. "Our prime minister talks of women empowerment but these women who have been married in India for past ten to thirty five years even can't call themselves Indians leave alone going out of Qadian" he said. At least nine Pakistani brides in Qadian alone were awaiting Indian citizenship, he said. Tahira questioned "Isn't this a discrimination against women and Muslim's"? She held bureaucracy responsible for their plights adding that they had fulfilled all the formalities required for acquiring Indian citizenship yet they were made to run between pillar to post. Mehmood Ahmad Nasir who married to Hafizabad, Pakistan, resident Mubina Kanwal 18 years ago said "I am father of three yet my wife doesn't have Indian citizenship". He said he wondered why the Pak girls were being discriminated. "I hope after Obama's public advice to India on religious discrimination , the bureaucracy will get out of its slumber and persuade our case immediately" said Mubina. She said not allowing them to go out of Qadian was also their human rights violation. Tahira said when her mother was admitted in hospital in Amritsar she even couldn't go there to look after her. "When we can't cross borders of Qadian, we all feel very discriminated , it should come to an end now" she said. Eom

