More Hindu families return home with shattered dream of better life in India

ISLAMABAD: Another batch of Pakistanis, including large number of Hindu families, who had moved to India believing a better life there, returned to Pakistan through Attari-Wagah border after being disappointed by the worse living conditions in India.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, in a statement, said more than 200 Pakistan nationals returned Thursday. “As part of the High Commission’s ongoing efforts to assist Pakistan nationals in India, including those stranded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, today, more than 200 Pakistanis were repatriated via Attari-Wagah border,” a statement said.

The High Commission said in close coordination with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other concerned authorities in Islamabad, including Ministry of Interior, Pakistan High Commission will continue to extend all possible assistance to the remaining Pakistanis in India, seeking to return home as Attari-Wagah border was closed for regular movements due to coronavirus. Since 20 March 2020, Pakistan High Commission has facilitated travel of more than 1100 Pakistanis.

The returning Hindu Pakistanis told the media at the “Bab-e-Azadi” that they were promised that they would have earn a better livelihood and would have better prospects for their families, however, what they witnessed was far from the promises made to them.

One of the returning Hindu elder said they were promised that they would get a visa, however there was no such thing and waited for three months. Later, the people who had brought them to India also discarded them. “The deplorable conditions forces us to leave, as what we had in Pakistan was far better than what we were getting,” Shiv Dhan said. When asked the promises by the Narendra Modi government of providing nationality and facilities to Hindus from all over the world who settle in India, he termed it all farce.