Salma Agha to get lifetime Indian visa, say MHA sources

Pakistani origin actor and singer Salma Agha, who had requested for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, will get a lifetime Indian visa, said sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Agha, who had earlier sought a multiple-entry visa which would enable her to visit India frequently, met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today and put forth her request.

Agha said she receives a lot of love and adulation from India, adding that she could have become Indian citizen anytime as her fore-fathers hail from Punjab's Amritsar city.

"There is nothing new in this (visa being given). Modi ji's government has helped me so much. We are grateful. I could have taken citizenship anytime. I belong to India. I am an Indian. My forefathers are from Amritsar," she said after the meeting.

She also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his initiatives for the empowerment of women and cited the government's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' mission.

Agha, the granddaughter of legendary actor Jugal Kishore Mehra and actress Anwari Begum, is currently a UK citizen.

The lifetime Indian visa for Agha comes months after Pakistani-origin singer and her former husband Adnan Sami was granted an Indian visa.