Daijiworld Media Network- Amritsar
Amritsar, May 1: In a heart-rending scene at the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post (JCP), several Pakistan nationals—some of whom had lived in India for over a decade—were deported back to Pakistan on government orders following the Pahalgam terror attack. Among those sent back was Riyaz Khan, a Kupwara resident who had been in India for 18 years, leaving behind a devastated wife and three children.
The deportation comes in the wake of a directive issued by the Union government, asking all Pakistani citizens residing in India to leave by May 1. Acting promptly, the Jammu and Kashmir Police transported the deportees from various districts including Handwara, Kupwara, Baramulla, and Budgam to the border in police buses.
As the gates of the JCP opened, emotional scenes unfolded. Sarah Khan from Rajouri, cradling her 14-day-old newborn, cried out to mediapersons, narrating her ordeal. “I had a C-section just two weeks ago. Doctors advised strict rest, but I was woken up at midnight and brought here,” she said tearfully. Sarah, originally from Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, married her cousin Aurangzeb Khan in 2017 and was living in Rajouri on a long-term visa valid till July 2026.
Another emotional moment came when Riyaz Khan, a 42-year-old from Kupwara, spoke from behind the grilled window of a police bus. He displayed his Aadhaar card, pleading that he was Indian. “My father served in the Indian Army. I was just 12 when I mistakenly crossed into Pakistan. In 2007, I returned legally through Attari. I have since lived a life of dignity here, even contested DDC elections,” he said. Riyaz now leaves behind a distraught wife and three children in Kupwara.
Adding to the dismay was Radha, a woman in her 60s, who claimed Indian nationality. Picked up from her home in Kathua at midnight, she said, “My family came here long after Partition. All my sons and daughters live in Jammu. I have no one in Pakistan and don’t even remember the village my parents came from.”
Despite claims of valid documentation and decades-long ties to India, many of these deportees were ferried to the border without prior notice, causing anguish among their families.
The move, although carried out under national security directives, has raised humanitarian concerns. Many of those deported are now caught between two lands, with no country they can truly call home.