- By Shibra Siddiqui
- Sun, 27 Apr 2025 07:12 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pakistani nationals continue to leave India through the Atari and Wagah border after Indian suspended all the visas issued to Pakistani nationals. The already strained bilateral relations between India and Pakistan were further damaged after the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.
The Centre asked Pakistanis visiting India on SAARC visas to leave India by April 27, as all the visas issued to Pakistani nationals, except medical ones, stand invalid after April 27. The deadline for the medical visa is April 29.
Vehicles queued up near the Attari border in Amritsar district as hundreds of Indian citizens came to send off their Pakistani relatives. Around 272 Pakistani nationals have left India, while as many as 629 Indians, including 13 diplomats and officials, have returned from Pakistan, PTI news agency reported.
“My mother's an Indian and she is not being allowed to accompany us to Pakistan. They (the authorities at Attari) are telling us they will not allow my mother to go along. My parents got married in 1991. They are saying Indian passport holders will not be allowed,” PTI quoted Sarita, a Pakistani national. Her brother and father are also Pakistani citizens.
Among those leaving India is 11-year-old Zainab. Zainab is a Pakistani citizen who has to leave India and her mother behind after the revocation of visas. “Very difficult to leave my mother behind. My heart is broken,” said the child, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
According to the report, Gurbax Singh, a Pakistani citizen from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, regretted how innocent civilians like him bear the brunt for crimes committed by terrorists. “Half of my extended family, including my cousins, live in India. What happened in Pahalgam is utterly reprehensible. They (terrorists) murdered humanity, but look who has to bear the brunt. There were many Pakistanis who were visiting India for medical treatment, but now all have to rush back,” he said.
12 categories of visa holders have to leave India immediately, as Sunday is the deadline. These are - visa on arrival, business, film, journalist, transit, conference, mountaineering, student, visitor, group tourist, pilgrim and group pilgrim. Those staying beyond the new limits will face legal action under the newly enacted Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
