Karnataka man, Pakistani wife, Sushma Swaraj to the rescue?

This Hubballi man has been running from pillar to post for almost a year, just for one signature.
Karnataka man, Pakistani wife, Sushma Swaraj to the rescue?
Karnataka man, Pakistani wife, Sushma Swaraj to the rescue?
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Almost a year after Daniel Henry Devanur married his love, Silvia Noreen, at a Pentecostal church in Lahore, the couple is struggling to live together, and Daniel is running from pillar to post to bring his wife back to India.

Daniel and Silvia’s marriage is facing diplomatic troubles as Silvia is a Pakistani national and Daniel has been unable to get a sponsorship certificate for his wife. In a desperate attempt, he tweeted to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to help him reunite with his wife.

Daniel has to get a signature from a gazetted officer to facilitate his wife’s journey.

“Silvia is distant relative on my mother’s side of the family. My mother’s family has roots in West Bengal and were staying in Lahore before the partition. I met her in 2014 and fell in love with her instantly. We got married on June 25, 2016,” Daniel recounts.

Daniel flew to Pakistan alone as his parents had no passports, and in the presence of Silvia’s family he got married in the United Pentecostal Church in Lahore. The couple later got their marriage registered at a Pakistani court. A few days later, Daniel returned home to begin the proceeding to bring his wife to India and has been struggling ever since.

“I have met the local tahsildar, the former corporator, MP Prahalad Joshi and also officials at the Indian Embassy. All the gazetted officer has to do is sign on the sponsorship certificate, but every time I have approached an officer, they say that they have to contact their superiors. Hence, I tweeted to Sushma Swaraj as she has helped many people in the past,” Daniel said.

Daniel’s family in Hubballi await their daughter-in-law’s arrival as his parents did not attend the wedding and had initially planned to hold a small reception in India. “All I need is the signature of a gazette officer - tahsildar, assistant commissioner or deputy commissioner - on my application. All the authorities have turned me down,” Daniel said.

MP Prahalad Joshi confirmed to media persons that he had spoken with Daniel and said that a letter has been sent to the foreign minister to help Daniel. He said that he would urge Swaraj to consider Daniel’s plea next week.

Joshi said that when Daniel had approached local gazetted officers, he had not notified the Indian embassy of his marriage.

“Once he does that, then the embassy will verify his claim and then sign on the sponsorship certificate. We are all trying to help him,” Joshi added. 

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