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Kerala family, stuck in Karachi, fears deportation without their children

Haneef had gone to Karachi along with his wife to dispose of the property owned by his father, a Pakistani national.

A couple from the southern Indian state of Kerala stuck in Pakistan is faced with the sad prospect of being deported to India without their two children born in the neighbouring country.

Haneef Maranaveetil, a native of the northern district of Kannur, and his wife Aseena have been caught in this agonizing situation because of the delay on the part of the Indian High Commission in Pakistan to issue passports to the children aged three years and 18 days.

Haneef, who had gone to Karachi along with his wife six years ago, to dispose of the property owned by his father, a Pakistani national, has been running from pillar to post but to no avail.

Pleas from their family members in Kerala and prominent Keralites in Pakistan especially after the couple was served with a deportation notice by the Pakistani authorities four months ago have not yielded any result so far.

Haneef’s mother Thekkemaniymbath Ayisha is worried that the Pakistani authorities may deport Haneef and Aseena without their children, Haseeb and Haseeba. She has sought urgent intervention of the federal government to avoid this unpleasant prospect.

Haneef’s father-in-law Dirar Chirayakkunnel said the family members had approached all who mattered, including the Indian mission in Islamabad, local MP K Sudhakaran and Federal Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran, but none had come to their rescue.

He said Haneef has been trying to delay the deportation without the children by going into hiding. But Dirar is doubtful how long his son-in-law and daughter will be able to stay away from the vigil of the Pakistani authorities.

He said Haneef had gone to Karachi a few months after his marriage to sell off a hotel his father Abdulla owned there. Abdulla, who migrated to Pakistan before Partition, had died in 1992. The hotel was being run by Haneef’s uncle since then.

As the transfer of the asset in the name of the uncle itself took three years, Haneef abandoned the move to sell the property and tried to return, but could not without getting a passport for his son born three years ago. The birth of the second child on December 11 has confounded his problem.

Though he has submitted the documents for issuing passport to the second child he does not know how long it will take for the Indian authorities to complete the process that they could not do in the case of the first child in the last three years.

The family members of the couple are anguished over the situation. They are worried that they will not be able to see them if the authorities did not act swiftly to issue emergency passports to the children.

news@khaleejtimes.com