‘Don’t throw us out’: How shutting Attari border has impacted India, Pakistan civilians

Emotions ran high at the Attari border in Punjab’s Amritsar district as hundreds of Pakistani citizens on visas left India after the deadline came to an end on Sunday (April 27). In the aftermath of the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, New Delhi revoked several categories of visas for Pakistani nationals.

Over 500 Pakistanis have left India via the Attari-Wagah border since April 24, officials said on Sunday. Many of these citizens have relatives in India; some had come to take part in weddings, but had to leave without attending.

Let’s take a closer look.

Who got ‘Leave India’ notice?

India announced a slew of retaliatory measures against Pakistan after terrorists linked to the neighbouring country killed 26 people, mainly tourists, in the scenic meadows of Baisaran near Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.

The Centre announced the closure of the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Attari. Another punitive step was to cancel 14 categories of Indian visas held by Pakistani nationals.

The 12 categories of visa holders who had to leave India by Sunday included: visa on arrival, business, student, visitor, film, journalist, transit, conference, mountaineering, group tourist, pilgrim and group pilgrim.

The deadline for Pakistan’s citizens visiting India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) ended on April 26. Pakistanis who are on medical visas have to depart by April 29.

However, those Pakistan nationals with Long Term Visas (LTVs) and Diplomatic or Official Visas are exempted from the ‘Leave-India’ order.

The long-term visa is generally granted to Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan who come to India with the hope of becoming citizens. This visa is typically valid for one to five years.

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Tears, pleas to stay back at Attari border

Pakistani nationals queued at the Attari border to return to their country as the Sunday deadline concluded.

The pain of Indians and their Pakistani relatives was evident as they bid their goodbyes at the land route between the two countries.

It was a tormenting separation for some who had to leave their kin behind as they held Indian citizenship.

Sobbing, Sarita, a Pakistani citizen, told PTI, “My mother’s an Indian and she is not being allowed to accompany us to Pakistan.” She, along with her brother and father, was among the hundreds of people at the Attari border on Sunday, rushing to exit India.

The family came from Pakistan for a relative’s wedding, which is slated for April 29. “We came to India after nine years. 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,” Sarita said, bawling her eyes out.

For two young brides from Pakistan, the ‘Leave India’ notice could not have come at a worse time. After waiting for nearly two years, they reunited with their Indian husbands in Rajasthan earlier this month, as per a Hindustan Times (HT) report.

However, their dreams of starting a family came to a halt abruptly after the Indian government revoked visas for most Pakistani nationals.

Saleh Mohammad (26) and Mushtaq Ali (27), cousins living in Jaisalmer, married Karam Khatoon (21) and Sachul (22) in August 2023 in Sindh province’s Ghotki district. However, they could not bring their wives to India due to visa issues.

The women finally secured visas this year, reuniting with their families in India on April 13. But their happiness was short-lived as local police pushed the families to send the brides back to Pakistan, as per the newspaper report.

“We waited for two years to be together. Now, just after a few days, we are being told to go back. Where would we go? Who is there for us in Pakistan? We would rather die than leave our husbands,” one of the brides told HT.

An elderly Pakistani woman, living in Odisha for decades, has been told to leave. Rezia Sultana, a 72-year-old in Balasore district’s Soro town, has appealed to the Indian government to let her stay, reported Times of India (TOI).

Sultana, who is suffering from kidney-related issues, has been living in India since she was four. Her father, Haider Ali, who hailed from Bihar, had migrated to Bangladesh after the 1947 Partition and later to Pakistan, where she was born.

When Sultana was four years old, her father returned to India. She married a man in Soro and has two children. The elderly woman told TOI after getting the deportation notice, “If we have done anything wrong, let the government shoot us. But don’t throw us out of the country.”

Mohd Salim, a resident of Karachi, came to India on a 45-day visa. However, he had to return to his home country after his visa was revoked, PTI reported.

Condemning the terror attack in Kashmir, Gurbax Singh from Buner in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province highlighted the pain of civilians asked to leave India.

“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 told the news agency at Attari.

Singh had come to India on April 15.

How many Pakistanis have left India?

As many as 537 Pakistani nationals, including nine diplomats and officials, have exited India through the Attari-Wagah border since April 24.

Some Pakistanis may have also left by using the air route through a third country, as India does not have direct air connectivity with Pakistan, as per PTI.

A Punjab Police protocol officer at the Attari-Wagah border told The Hindu that the passenger movement of 353 people was recorded on Sunday. Of this, 116 people arrived from Pakistan and 237 people left India.

About 850 Indians, including 14 diplomats and officials, have returned from Pakistan through the international border crossing in Punjab.

At around 1,000, Maharashtra recorded the most number of Pakistanis with short-term visas, the PTI news agency reported, citing officials.

As many as 5,050 Pakistani citizens have been living in the western state, mostly on long-term visas. Notably, 107 Pakistani nationals staying in Maharashtra could not be traced.

Speaking to The Hindu, a Delhi Police official said they identified around 2,500 Pakistani citizens, including those on long-term visas. “Most were not found living at the address provided in the immigration form indicating that they had left the country, but further verification with the airport and land port is on,” the official said.

The Uttar Pradesh Police said in a statement that the process to send back Pakistani citizens has been completed, adding that only one national remains who will leave on April 30.

Over 200 Pakistani nationals were in Telangana, with 13 on short-term visas and 39 possessing travel documents for medical and business purposes, police chief Jitender told the news agency.

Kerala had 104 Pakistani nationals, of whom five on tourist or medical visas have left India. The rest have long-term visas.

Seven Pakistanis were in Gujarat on short-term visas. Of these, some had left and the rest were expected to depart from India on Sunday, officials told PTI. The state also has 438 Pakistani nationals on long-term visas, including Hindus who have applied for Indian citizenship.

Around 228 Pakistanis were in Madhya Pradesh, 12 in Odisha and three in Goa.

India has warned that those who fail to return to Pakistan would face legal action under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.

With inputs from agencies