MEERUT, Oct. 29 -- For 38-year-old Poonam, who crossed the border from Pakistan's Swat Valley nearly two decades ago seeking safety, this Diwali brought the light she had long waited for as she finally received Indian citizenship. Living in Rampur on a long-term visa since 2004, Poonam has been granted citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), marking the end of her prolonged struggle for legal recognition in the country she now calls home.

Rampur superintendent of police Vidyasagar Mishra confirmed, "The citizenship process for Poonam has been completed."

Poonam and her brother Gagan had arrived in India amid the surge of militancy in Pakistan's Swat region, sent by their father, a wholesale food trader from Mingor...