Dubai:
An Indian man, on a mission to trace his Emirati father he has never seen, has been assured by the UAE authorities that they are "committed to assist" him in his quest of over two decades.
Ameen (name changed) has travelled to the UAE more than once since 1992 to search for his father or anyone from his family but has not been lucky.
In 1974, the father had travelled to India as a 33-year- old and married Ameen's mother but left for the UAE two months later with the promise that he would make arrangements to bring her to the country.
He never returned nor contacted the mother since she got pregnant with Ameen and years later, another Emirati who attended their wedding told her that he died in a road accident, Khaleej Times reported today.
His father's final instructions to his mother before he disappeared were on what to name their child, police said.
On learning about Ameen's ordeal, the Human Rights Department of the Dubai Police has extended their support to his quest. The police just have a dated photograph of the father and know that he served as a policeman till 1975.
According to Brigadier Mohammed Al Murr, Director of the General Department of Human Rights at the Dubai Police, they were notified about Ameen's search for his father or anyone from his family by the UAE Ministry of Interior.
The records available with the police show that the father applied for a leave in 1975 and resigned after joining duty. No further details are available, the report said.
Ameen's mother got married to a Qatari national and moved to Doha to live with him. Ameen joined her in Doha in 1992 and since then has been trying to search for his father.
Fatima Al Kindi, head of the Social Support Section at the department, said Ameen has not been able to get a UAE passport despite having authentic marriage and birth certificates in his father's name.
As per the records available, she said, it looks like the man was already married in the UAE when he got married to Ameen's mother. She said the department is facing many difficulties in the search as the photograph they have is unclear and his name is fairly common in the country.
The department has prepared a "comprehensive file" on the father and the police are "committed to assist" Ameen in his search, Al Kindi said.