Nearly three years have passed since Rana Shaukat Ali lost five of his six children in the Samjhauta Express blasts. Two months ago, he finally received all the compensation that was due to him in India. But a part of the money can’t be encashed — probably not unless the government intervenes.

Some time after the February 19, 2007 explosions, Shaukat received Rs 50,00,000 from the Indian government as compensation for loss of life. A separate claim for compensation, however, remained stuck at the Railway Claims Tribunal, which finally awarded him the money in September.

Shaukat’s family visits India once a year for their children’s barsi. This year, they came early to collect the Railway compensation — two cheques for Rs 2,27,296 each, issued in September.

“We came to India after my lawyer informed me that the cheques had been issued. But we have not been able to encash them, as I do not have an account in an Indian bank. RBI rules prevent a Pakistani national from opening an account in India without permission from the government. The cheque will lapse next month and my visa is valid only till November 26,” Shaukat told The Indian Express.

Shaukat will be meeting the Minister of State for Railways, K H Muniyappa, on Tuesday to request him to either pay him in cash, or to convert the currency into US dollars.

The family’s visits to India used to be vacation once — Shaukat’s brother lives in Ghaziabad. After the Samjhauta tragedy, they turned into annual visits to courts, tribunals and to Panipat, where Aisha (15) Bilal (13) Meer Hamza (11) Abdul Rehman(6) and Aasma (4) died.

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