PESHAWAR, Oct 9: The Peshawar High Court on Monday directed the interior division to grant citizenship to an Arab woman who had married a Pakistani and left her country.

A bench comprising Justice Fazlur Rehman Khan and Justice Dost Mohammad Khan conditionally allowed a writ petition jointly filed by Sheikha Mohammad Hamoud Alhamadi and her husband Juma Raz Khan seeking citizenship for the woman.

The court observed that if there was any case against the woman in her native country, United Arab Emirates, the government should approach the court.

The woman had first applied for citizenship on April 13, 2005, and again on May 22, 2005.

The woman fears that if she is deported to her country, she will be killed by members of her family as she had married Juma Raz of her will.

Ms Sheikha had arrived in Pakistan on April 7, 2005, and the same day she married Juma Raz in Karak, the southern district of the NWFP. Juma Raz used to work in the UAE but was deported after he developed differences with the family of Ms Sheikha.

Initially, an FIR was registered against Juma Raz and his two brothers at the Karak police station, accusing them of keeping the woman in illegal confinement. However, the woman rejected the charge and the FIR was quashed by the high court last year.

Deputy attorney-general Salahuddin Khan opposed the petition and requested the bench to adjourn the hearing. He contended that the interior division had yet to receive clearance from an intelligence agency for granting her citizenship to the woman.

The bench asked him why the interior division had taken two years in deciding the case. It observed that the woman was a Muslim and had not committed any crime by marrying a man of her choice.

The court gave 15 minutes to the deputy attorney-general to enquire from the government about the fate of the woman’s application. The official sought further time, but the bench refused.

The deputy attorney-general stated that there were cases pending against the woman in the UAE. The bench asked him to provide details of the cases, but he could not provide any details.