Visa suspension after Pahalgam terror attack: Read how measures to hold Pakistan accountable are turned into sob stories of Pakistani nationals

As the Indian government suspended visas of Pakistani nationals in retaliation for the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian media have taken it upon themselves to bring out the sob stories of Pakistani nationals who will have to go back to their country before the deadline.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, on Friday (25th April), announced the suspension of visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect. The Ministry said that no new visas will be issued to Pakistani nationals across 14 categories, namely- SAARC Visa, visa on arrival, business visa, film visa, journalist visa, transit visa, medical visa, conference visa, mountaineering visa, student visa, visitor visa, group tourist visa, pilgrim visa and group pilgrim issued to Pakistan minorities. Pakistani nationals holding SAARC and medical visas were directed to leave India by 22nd April and 26th April, respectively, while those holding Visas of all other categories are required to go back by 29th April. Those who will be found overstaying their visa limits will face action under the Immigration and Foreign Nationals Act, 2025.

Soon after the government issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Pakistani nationals to leave the country, hundreds of Pakistani nationals left India through the Attari-Wagah border. However, many Indian women married to Pakistani nationals were left stranded at the border after the BSF officials barred them. In no time, the Indian news space was flooded with stories of the struggle of these stranded Indian Muslim women wanting to go back to their husbands’ houses and Pakistani nationals who came to India seeking medical care or to visit their relatives, but now have to return abruptly.

Indian Muslim women married to Pakistani nationals

Visa suspension has highlighted several cases of Indian Muslim women married to Pakistani nationals for decades, and yet retaining their Indian citizenship to avail the benefits of various welfare schemes in India.

The New Indian Express reported how Indian citizens Sadvi Ali and Majida Khan, both married to Pakistan nationals, have been struggling to go back to their husbands’ houses. Sadvi Ali, from Delhi, was married to a resident of Karachi. She was leaving for Pakistan with her son, but was stopped. “My five-year-old son is a Pakistani national; thus, he has to go back as the Indian government said that all Pakistanis have to leave the country in 48 hours. But he cannot travel alone,” Sadvi Ali was quoted as saying.

Similarly, Majida Khan, who married a Pakistani national 10 years ago, came to India with her two children. Despite being married for a decade, Majida Khan holds an Indian passport, and her two children, though born in India, hold Pakistani passports. “I came here in February to visit my family, and now, due to this development, we have to leave within 48 hours.” Regarding the Pahalgam attack, she said that those who killed innocents should be punished, but ordinary people should not be harassed.

The Tribune also reported the plight of Irshad and Sabina, who hold Indian passports despite being married to Pakistani nationals for years. Irshad from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, is reportedly married to a Pakistani national living in Karachi for two decades. Her two daughters, holding Pakistani passports, were allowed to go to Pakistan, but she was not allowed.

Irshad from Bulandshahr (UP), married to a Karachi resident for two decades. Though her daughters, holding Pakistani nationality, were permitted to cross, she was denied passage despite claiming to have applied for Pakistani citizenship, a process still incomplete. Similarly, Sabina, from Rajasthan, who married in Pakistan in 2018, was also stranded with her minor son, who is a Pakistani national. Another Indian Muslim woman, Wazida, who has two Pakistani children and was not allowed to cross the border, claimed that her citizenship application in Pakistan has been pending for 10 years since her marriage.

Pakistan nationals on a medical visa

Large numbers of Pakistani nationals visit India seeking medical facilities at affordable prices, which they fail to get in their own country. However, after the revocation of visas, they will have to return to their country. Several media outlets reported the sob stories of such Pakistani nationals.

Hindustan Times reported how Fida Hussain, a Pakistani national who came to India on 22nd April for a liver transplant in Delhi, is disappointed over the suspension of her visa. “I got my visa after a lot of struggles. The sudden turn of events has spoiled all my plans. I had spent a lot of money to come here for treatment. All of it has been wasted,” Hussain was quoted as saying.

Washin Jahangir, who claimed that she has ‘half-nationality’ of Pakistan, was also equally disappointed by the development. Jahangir and her sister’s in-laws live in Karachi. Both the sisters, along with Jahangir’s two nieces, came to India a month ago for asthma treatment. Jahangir’s two nieces were able to return to Pakistan as they were Pakistani nationals, but she and her sister got stranded. “My husbands and two sons are waiting for me across the border. I have been granted half-nationality by Pakistan. I have all the documents, still, I have been stopped,” Jahangir was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times

The story of another Pakistani man who came for medical treatment of his two children to India is also making headlines. His two children, aged 9 and 7, are reportedly suffering from a congenital heart condition. He reportedly appealed to the government of India to allow him to stay for the medical treatment of his children, citing that he spent ₹10 million on this.

Pakistani nationals who came to visit relatives

The Tribune presented the emotional tales of Pakistani nationals who came to visit India to meet their relatives, but their visit was cut short abruptly due to visa suspension. The media outlet reported how Asgar Ali, who termed the Indian government’s response to Pahalgam terror attack as ‘politics of hatred’, ” struggled to explain to the children why he couldn’t keep his promises — to show them their parents’ ancestral village and the historic sites they had dreamed of visiting during their 45-day stay”. Ali was hosting eight Pakistani guests.

Mohammad Hanif, a Pakistani wrestler, also faced a similar predicament as he had to leave without meeting friends and relatives in Punjab, including fellow wrestlers at local akharas.

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