Amid rising tensions following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, a Pakistani woman, Minal Ahmed Khan, married to a CRPF trooper in Jammu, was deported to Pakistan via the Attari border on Tuesday. Her deportation comes after India suspended visas for Pakistani nationals in the wake of the attack that killed 26 people.
Minal, a resident of Punjab province in Pakistan, had married her Indian husband via video call in May 2023 and later entered India on a 15-day visa to formalize their marriage. The couple had been living in the Gharota area on the outskirts of Jammu.
Although Minal had applied for an extension after her Long Term Visa (LTV) expired on March 14 this year, her application was still pending with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs when the new directive was issued. Following orders from the ministry, she was moved to Attari for deportation, accompanied by her husband.
Speaking to select media before her departure, Minal expressed sorrow over the recent attack. “The Pahalgam incident is very unfortunate and those responsible must be punished. But why should innocent people from both sides suffer?” she asked, holding back tears.
“Why are we being separated? My visa has been suspended, how will I meet my husband now?” she added. She also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow her to stay with her in-laws in Jammu.
Her deportation is part of a broader directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which requires all Pakistani nationals whose visas were revoked to leave the country within fixed deadlines. Pakistani nationals holding SAARC, visitor, business, student, journalist, and medical visas were ordered to leave India by April 29, with no new visas to be issued.
