19 Years After Marrying Pakistani Man, Sharjah-based Former Indian Citizen Faces 'Identity Crisis'

Dubai: A Sharjah-based former Indian citizen, who changed her name, religion and nationality to marry a Pakistani man around 19 years ago, is facing identity crisis due to delay in renewing her Pakistani national identity card, according to a media report.

Kajal Rasheed Khan applied to renew her Pakistani Identity Card on July 31, but she is still waiting for her new card as authorities in Pakistan say that her documents are now "being verified", the Gulf News reported.

Normally, it takes seven to 10 days to get an ID card renewed, the report said.

"I have been exchanging e-mails with NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) for the last three months and have already provided them all the extra documents they asked me to submit, but there has been no progress, Kajal's husband Mohammad Rasheed Khan told the newspaper.

Kajal's bank accounts are now frozen in Karachi.

Kajal, whose existing Pakistani ID card is valid until 2023, had to apply for the new smart ID card to operate her bank accounts in Pakistan.

I fail to understand why my wife's application is on hold as it is just a renewal of the ID card. She already holds valid Pakistani passport and Pakistani citizenship certificate, he was quoted as saying by the daily.

She also has a letter issued from the Pakistan Consulate General in Dubai confirming that she had surrendered her Indian passport and was issued with a Pakistani passport in 2001.

An architect by profession, 60-year-old Rasheed had come to the UAE from Karachi in 1989 and opened a supermarket in Dubai.

He married Kalpana, a Hindu girl, in 1996 in Mumbai - she then changed her name to Kajal and converted to Islam. Rasheed has relatives in India as well.

He has four wives including two each from India and Pakistan and 10 children. One of his Indian wives lives in India with two daughters. His first Pakistani wife has two sons and a daughter while the second Pakistani wife has two daughters and a son, the report said

Rasheed and Kajal have two children -- a son and a daughter.