Punjab: The Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday stopped Indian women married to Pakistani nationals from entering Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border. The action came following a government directive to cancel visas of all Pakistani nationals after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack. 191 Pakistani nationals who had gone to visit their relatives in India were allowed to return home while Indian nationals, including women with Pakistani spouses, were stopped from entering Pakistan. Protocol officer Arun Mahal at Attari said 287 Indians returned from Pakistan but no Indian was allowed to go in the opposite direction. Outside the Attari Integrated Check Post, frustration flared as Indian Muslim women married to Pakistani men pleaded for permission to return to their families across the border.
Some even threatened to stage a sit-in if they were sent back despite travelling with their children of Pakistani origin who were allowed to proceed. Among those stranded was Irshad from Bulandshahr (UP), who was married to a Karachi resident two decades ago. Though their daughters, who hold Pakistani citizenship, were allowed to cross the border, they were denied passage even as they claimed to have applied for Pakistani citizenship, a process which is still incomplete. Sabina, a resident of Rajasthan who married a Pakistani in 2018, stood helplessly with her minor son, who is a Pakistani citizen, while Vajeeda, travelling with her two Pakistani children, revealed that her citizenship application was pending since 10 years of her marriage. The CCS justified the travel restrictions citing intelligence reports that allegedly linked the Pahalgam attack, in which 26 civilians were killed, to handlers sitting in Pakistan.
