LAHORE: In the shadow of escalating tensions following the Pahalgam terror attacks, heartbreaking stories are emerging from the India-Pakistan border.
An 11-year-old Pakistani girl, Zainab, tearfully parted ways with her Indian mother at the Attari-Wagah crossing, forced to return home without her. Meanwhile, newly reunited cross-border couples also find their dreams crushed as India revokes visas for Pakistani nationals, abruptly ending family celebrations and deepening the human cost of political strife.
According to Indian media, Zainab, 11, and Zenish, 8, had arrived in India with their mother, who holds an Indian passport, to meet their grandmother in Delhi last month. Little did they know that within a month, the situation between the countries would hit an all-time low.They face a tragic dilemma at the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, as both are being sent back to their country with their mother stuck in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Pakistani brides’ reunion with Indian husbands was short-lived as India revoked visas. After waiting for nearly two years, two young brides from Pakistan reunited with their Indian husbands in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer earlier this month. However, their hopes of starting a family were shattered when India announced the revocation of all visas issued to Pakistani nationals.Karam Khatoon (21) and Sachul (22) tied the knot with Saleh Mohammad (26) and Mushtaq Ali (27) respectively in Pakistan’s Ghotki district in 2023. But the brides could not travel to India with their husbands due to visa complications. Cousins Saleh Mohammad and Mushtaq Ali, from Devikot village in Jaisalmer, had travelled to Ghotki district in Sindh province in July 2023.
The grooms returned to India in September 2023, once their visas expired. After trying for a year and a half, the Indian government granted visas to the brides, and the families finally reunited on April 13. The families were busy celebrating the reunion with rituals when the visas issued to Pakistani nationals were revoked.
A woman was stopped at the Attari-Wagah border while she was returning to Pakistan with two children, because she had an Indian passport. However, her children, who had Pakistani passports, were allowed.
Sana, an Indian citizen, married to a Pakistani in 2020, had come to India to visit her paternal home in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut. As the situation between the two countries grew tense following the Pahalgam terror attack, she planned to go back before scheduled. However, when she reached the India-Pakistan border, she was stopped by the Indian Army.
Meanwhile, 537 Pakistani nationals, including nine diplomats and officials, left India through the Attari-Wagah border point in four days beginning April 24.A total of 850 Indians, including 14 diplomats and officials, have returned from Pakistan through the international border crossing located in Punjab in the last four days.
Any Pakistani, who fails to leave India as per the deadlines set by the government, will be arrested, prosecuted and may face a jail term of up to three years or a fine of a maximum Rs 3 lakh or both.
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