Union govt extends deadline for Pakistanis to leave India
Since the Centre's order, at least 86 Pakistani nationals including 55 diplomats and support have staff left India; from Pak, around 1,465 Indians have come back
As scores of Pakistanis were stranded on the Wagah-Attari border, the Union government has extended the April 30 deadline for Pakistani nationals to quit India without specifying a new date.
The latest home ministry order modifies its previous direction which said the border would be closed on April 30. This has come as a huge relief to those Pakistanis who could not meet the April 30 deadline.
The mass deportation order followed the massacre of two dozen civilians by Pakistani terrorists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22., derailing Indo-Pakistan relations.
Order modified
In a partial modification, it is now been decided that Pakistanis may be allowed to exit India to go into Pakistan from the Integrated Check Post at Attari in Punjab till further orders, with due clearance.
No fresh deadline has been given.
In the days since the Centre's go-back order, at least 86 Pakistani nationals including 55 diplomats and support have staff left India. Another 1,465 Indians have crossed over to India.
Families hit
While those holding short-term and SAARC visas were directed to leave by April 27, the deadline for those carrying medical visas was April 29.
The move has torn apart several families and separated mothers from their children.
Several Pakistanis living in India for the past 30-40 years were also among those deported, triggering appeals from welfare groups and politicians to exempt certain categories.
Mehbooba’s appeal
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti urged the Centre to reconsider its decision to deport those Pakistani nationals who have been married to Indians.
"Many affected are women who came to India 30-40 years ago, married Indian citizens, raised families, and have long been part of our society," she said in a post on X.