PESHAWAR, Aug 11: Mother of Dr Hafsa Aman, an Indian woman fighting to gain Pakistani citizenship, has sent a formal invitation to her daughter and Pakistani son-in-law to visit India, stating she has no objection to her daughter's conversion to Islam.

Hafsa's mother, Ms Vasantha Kumary Dayanandan, has sent a letter from the southern Indian state of Kerala to her daughter and son-in-law, Aman Khan, through a private courier company.

Mr Khan told Dawn that initially they had turned down the request of his mother-in-law, but after receiving the fresh invitation they had now been re-considering their decision.

He said that Ms Hafsa, previously known as Divya Dayanandan, was the lone child of her parents and he could not think of creating any hurdle in their meeting each other. Mrs Dayanandan stated that she was perturbed about the hardship her daughter faced in Pakistan to get the citizenship.

In the letter she sent to the couple, Mrs Dayandandan stated: "You know that religious tolerance prevail in our family and Kerala in particular. Here, Hindus and Muslims are living like brothers and sisters and we respect each other. Muslims in Kerala enjoy equality with their Hindu brothers.

"Hindus marrying Muslims and vice versa was very common in Kerala and they do not keep any hatred for such couples. They are not socially boycotted and have a proud place in society.

"Divya, you are my only daughter. Selecting a life partner is your personal realm. I do not want to question your choice and your father also joins me in fostering this idea. Our neighbours have also no ill feeling towards you.

"The society here is ready to accept you in its fold. No body would compel you to change your religion. Your husband is the son-in-law of our country. As a mother I am ready to accept you and your husband. You can come and stay with us indefinitely," Mrs Dayanandan said.

The letter which reached here on Saturday was sent before Aug 3, the day when Dr Hafsa gave birth to a baby boy. Dr Hafsa, who converted to Islam and married a Pakistani last year, has been fighting a legal battle to get Pakistani citizenship certificate. Her case will be taken up for hearing by the Peshawar High Court on Aug 19.

The interior division, Islamabad, has informed the high court that her application had been turned down as security agencies had not cleared her name and now they were re-processing her case.

In India, especially in Kerala, the stories of Dr Hafsa and her family have been hitting the headlines in the print and electronic media. According to Indian media reports on the birth of Dr Hafsa's son, Mrs Dayanandan commented: "Let the child grow up as a new citizen, an icon of friendship between India and Pakistan.

That thought takes away all my worries at my daughter marrying a Muslim and that, too, a Pakistani. After all, the two peoples were one and they should be one again," she said. Let my grandson be a true ambassador of Indo-Pakistan friendship," she added.