Stranded Pakistani Nationals Continue to Cross Over Amid Visa Suspension

• Apr 28, 2025

Although the deadline for Pakistani nationals to return to their homeland officially ended on Sunday, a few stranded individuals continue to make their way back via the Attari land route.

Among them is Rukhsar, an Indian citizen from Delhi, who brought her four children—Pakistani nationals—to Attari on Monday to send them back to Pakistan. Similarly, Ramsha, an Indian resident of Mysuru, Karnataka, arrived with her three Pakistani national children to ensure their safe passage across the border.

The movement comes in the wake of the Indian government's decision on Friday to revoke all categories of visas issued to Pakistani citizens—except for long-term, diplomatic, and official visas—effective April 27.

The decision followed a brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where gunmen killed 26 people, mostly tourists, including a Nepalese national. The massacre took place around 2 p.m. at the Baisaran meadow, near the popular tourist town of Pahalgam, and has been described as one of the deadliest attacks in the region since the 2019 Pulwama bombing, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel.

The sudden visa suspension and the deadly attack have heightened tensions and left many families grappling with painful separations at the border.