The Ahmadabad district authorities on Friday gave Indian citizenship to around 90 Hindu migrants from Pakistan who had moved to the city years ago.

The migrants were given certificates by District Collector Vikrant Pandey in a function held in the city.

The certificates handed over have been issued in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

"In 2016, the Centre had decentralised the process of issuing citizenship to the minority communities, such as the Hindus and the Sikhs, of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan," District Collector Vikrant Pandey said.

He added that the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Kutch in Gujarat were given the power to grant Indian citizenship to the people from these communities after an issue of a gazette notification in December 2016.

He further said that since the new arrangement came into effect, Ahmedabad has become a leader among all the districts in the country.

"Since 2016, the Ahmedabad district collectorate has awarded citizenship to 320 people. No other district in the country has awarded these many certificates of citizenship. Ninety per cent of the 320 applicants were from Pakistan, while the rest were from Bangladesh," he added.

He also added that now the names of these people would also be included in electoral rolls and they were also eligible for Aadhaar.

Those who were awarded citizenship thanked the administration and expressed joy for finally being able to call themselves "Indian".

Some of them also shared the pathetic treatment which the minority community suffers in Pakistan.

"I have been living here since 2009. I used to own a super-store in Karachi, but I had to migrate here due to the law-and-order situation there. Hindus are an easy target there. It is more rampant in small towns. Hindus have to hide their identity in order to save themselves in Pakistan," Bharat Kumar Khatwani former resident of Karachi said.

"I used to run a Kirana (Grocery) shop there. Unknown persons used to threaten me by dropping letters at my shop. One day, men armed with Kalashnikov rifles stormed into my house and threatened to abduct my kids. This has happened with many Hindus," Chandvani, who now works at a textile shop, said.

Meeraben Maheshwari (70), who lived in the Sindh province before migrating to India years ago, claimed that her daughter was abducted and converted to Islam.