An Indian woman who is married to a Pakistani national and has children visited her maternal home in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district, stuck in India after a terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Sana with her two children with Pakistani passports visited here on a 45-day visit visa after the Indian government issued an order to Pakistani nationals to leave India within 48 hours knowing this Sana with her children reached Attar border in Punjab late on Thursday night to cross the border, but she was stopped from entering Pakistan side because of her holding Indian passport. However, both children were allowed to travel to Pakistan.
"I am Indian, my children were born in Pakistan, their nationality is Pakistani. We came here on a 45-day visa to meet our relatives. During this time, the attack happened. After that, we were informed that we had to return to Pakistan within two days. So, we took our visa. I got my visa, and we went to the border on the 25th, but we were stopped at the border," Sana told the news agency IANS.
Sana visited India 10 days ago to meet her family on a 45-day visa. Children's passports were made by birth in Pakistan, but Sana refuses to send her children alone. "Then they told us that no Indian can go to Pakistan, and they also said that we should keep the children with us... Our request to the government is that we should be safely sent back to our families," she added.
After the Union Home Ministry's Order, Maharashtra Police intensified their search for Pakistani nationals still in India, with a 48-hour deadline ending today. The police have launched a drive to trace Pakistani nationals leaving the state on various visas.
Also Read | Over 10,000 Pakistani Nationals Traced in Maharashtra and Delhi Post-Palgham Terror Attack.
According to a state home department report, 5,023 Pakistani nationals reside in different cities of Maharashtra. Nagpur has the highest number, with 2,458, followed by Thane (1,106), Jalgaon (393), Pimpri Chinchwad (290), and Navi Mumbai (239).
After the Pahalgam terror attack, the government has announced that those nationals from Pakistan who visited India on various short-term visas should exit the country by April 27. Individuals who are in India on medical visas have been granted a brief extension and must leave by April 29.