Two sisters from Pakistan, residing in India since 2008, find themselves stateless after bureaucratic delays prevent them from renouncing their Pakistani citizenship, leaving them in legal limbo and unable to access basic rights.
The sisters surrendered their Pakistani passports to the Pakistan High Commission in India in 2017 when they were minors, hoping to facilitate their application for Indian citizenship. However, due to Pakistani laws requiring individuals to be at least 21 years old to renounce citizenship independently, the High Commission did not issue the necessary renunciation certificates at that time.
After turning 21, they approached the High Commission again but were refused the certificates without explanation, as reported by their mother Rasheeda Bano. This led to a legal battle, with the Kerala High Court initially ruling in their favor in 2024, stating that demanding an impossible document was unreasonable.
On August 23, 2025, a two-judge bench overturned this decision, emphasizing the need for formal renunciation to ensure legal clarity in citizenship matters. This ruling has left the sisters without any citizenship, unable to obtain passports, travel, or fully integrate into Indian society.
The lack of citizenship severely impacts their daily lives; one sister’s husband had to leave his job in the Gulf because she couldn’t travel, and another has a son needing medical treatment abroad that she cannot access. They hold an Aadhaar card for identification but it does not confer citizenship rights.
The case underscores the complexities of India-Pakistan relations and the plight of migrants caught between bureaucratic hurdles. Over 7,000 Pakistani citizenship applications were pending in India as of 2021, indicating a broader issue.
The sisters’ lawyer, M Sasindran, questions how they can obtain the certificate now that they are adults but cannot return to Pakistan without passports. Their future depends on a possible appeal to a higher court, amidst ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two nations.