Hindus and Sikhs continue to flee Pakistan in the wake of the religious prosecution and forcible conversion of minority women to Islam in the neighbouring country.

In her twenties, Lali is part of the group of 50 Pakistani Hindus who left their homeland with the hope that they will get a chance to acquire Indian citizenship.

According to Lali, the minority Hindus are subject to extreme religious persecution in Pakistan being perpetrated by the majority orthodox Muslim community.

Her brother (not real) was among dozens of other Hindus who were killed in the recent past.

Uncertainty and tension were writ large on the face of this teenage Pakistani girl who repeatedly asked media no to reveal her identity while interacting with them at Attari border.

Lalli is visiting India for the second time. Recalling the earlier visit she said that her photograph and other information about her interaction with Indian media reached to the authorities in Pakistan. However, she refused to divulge more information about her previous visit to India.



When asked to comment on the plight of the minority Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan Lali replied: "Yes the condition is not favourable."

"The minority community people are facing a lot of problems and are also being denied passports" she added.

Those who came to India on Monday include women and small children who refused to speak to media, probably due to fear of Pakistani agencies.

A fifth standard student Kishore said that when he watched television news depicting the plight of minorities in Pakistan, he feared that this could happen to him also.

"We have come with limited belongings and are heading towards Haridwar. We do not want to go back and wish to settle here," said Kishore.

Most of the people who are part of this group said that they believe India to be their country and not Pakistan.

"Our forefathers could not migrate to India at the time of partition but now they want to live and settle in India, "said Shri Ram, part of the group.

The group is here on a 25-day visa and will be visiting Haridwar as a part of the holy visit. All of them left Amritsar on February 3 evening along with senior Akali Dal leader Majinder Singh Sirsa, who has assured them that Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee will raise their citizenship issue with Home Minister, Amit Shah.

However, the legal binding of the Citizenship Amendment Act in India does not allow granting citizenship to people who have come to India after 2014.