Is Deporting The Solution To Terrorism?

On an April morning, a police vehicle stopped outside the house of Suhail Ahmad, who lives in the Ompura area of Budgam district in Kashmir. His life changed that morning.

An engineer by profession, Ahmad worked in Saudi Arabia and married a Pakistani girl in 2022. He returned to Kashmir to look after his ailing mother and decided to set up a business here. His wife moved as well on a long-term visa (LTV). Eight months ago, the couple was blessed with a daughter.

It was all good until the afternoon of April 22, when terrorists killed 26 civilians—mostly tourists and all men—who were holidaying in Pahalgam in Kashmir.

Three days after the attack, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed officials to ensure the “exit” of Pakistani nationals as per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) orders, which said that all visas—except LTVs and diplomatic and official visas—stood revoked from April 27. The decision put many families in the Valley in a fix. Ahmad라이브 바카라 family was one such.

While the authorities initially said his wife라이브 바카라 name was not on the list of those to be deported, police arrived at Ahmad라이브 바카라 home one morning. They told his wife to go back to Pakistan, but without their eight-month-old daughter, who was born in India.

“We pleaded with the authorities that his wife had an LTV valid until June 30. We had even applied for an extension of the visa. Her name was not on the list, but two days later she was sent back,” says Rafiq Masoodi, Ahmad라이브 바카라 uncle, who worked at senior-level positions in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Just like Ahmad, the fate of many families living in Kashmir Valley changed after the Pahalgam attack. These include those who have spouses from Pakistan/Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), children born in Kashmir/Pakistan/PoK, or Pakistani citizens living in the country for many years. The most vulnerable are the wives of militants and others who crossed over to Pakistan in the 1990s and returned to the country after the government announced a rehabilitation policy for them in 2010.

The major problem that is emerging in the deportation process is the lack of legal documents and papers. Many arrived at the India-Pakistan border at Wagah to leave the country before the April 27 deadline, but some were turned away by the Pakistani authorities as they did not have proper papers. All these families are now swinging between panic and anxiety.

Naseer Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Lal Bazar area of Srinagar, is unsure for how long he will get to stay in India. “I was sent back from Wagah along with my two children,” says Bhat, who claims he went to Pakistan legally after procuring a visa in the 1990s before returning in 2009 with his Pakistani wife. “The Pakistani authorities are not letting people who don’t have a Pakistani passport to cross over,” he adds.

Apart from several Pakistanis who have been living here on LTVs, over 500 women came to Kashmir along with their children after the Jammu and Kashmir government announced a policy in 2010 that allowed former militants who had gone to Pakistan between January 1, 1989, and December 31, 2009, to return along with their families.

As per the government policy document dated November 23, 2010, “the ex-militants who had crossed over to PoK or Pakistan and were willing to return to Jammu and Kashmir owing to a change of heart could return via Wagah, Salamabad, Chakan-da Bagh crossing on the LOC besides the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. As per police records, in the initial three years—from 2010 up to April 10, 2013—about 262 ex-militants returned to Kashmir via Nepal from among 1,094 people who had opted to come back. These were people who did not get visas and hence could not return via the designated routes.

The government policy also mentioned: “All persons returning via Nepal are being screened in the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) and are subjected to due legal procedures through the appropriate Court of Law.”

Mohammad Amin Mir, 50, a resident of Rainawari area of Srinagar city, was among those who returned via Nepal in 2013. After the Pahalgam attack, he was called to the local police station and was asked to deposit the certificate of marriage that he had solemnised with a Pakistani girl. His two daughters—Ayesha (13), born in Pakistan, and Fatima (8), born in India—were petrified and refused to go to school. They realised that they could get separated from their parents.

“The repatriation will leave us divided,” says Mir라이브 바카라 wife Rayeesa, 38, sitting inside her house in Rainawari, along with other women from her neighbourhood. “I have nowhere to go in Pakistan. Most of my family members have died. I would rather die here than return to the country. My husband is here. I have a family here,” she says.

After Mir라이브 바카라 return to Kashmir, the family was very happy. “But the last few days have been traumatic,” says his brother Khurshid. “It was after proper police verification that my brother and his family were allowed to return to Kashmir via Nepal. But now there is a possibility that they could get separated,” he adds.

Before leaving for Pakistan in the 1990s, Mir worked at a grocery shop. In Pakistan, he ran an automobile spare parts shop. However, after returning to Kashmir, it took a while for him to become financially stable. The government라이브 바카라 return policy stipulated that those who were planning to return would be given training in suitable trades at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). Mir, however, rues that instead of helping them find employment, the government has turned its back on them by asking their Pakistani wives and children to leave India.

There are several people of Pakistani origin who are settled in the Valley. While some have set up small businesses, a few also managed to get government jobs.

In Srinagar라이브 바카라 bustling Khanyar area, Eijaz Ahmad Misgar, who returned to Kashmir in 2012 along with his family, is serving tea to a group of customers at his shop. His son works at a photocopy shop next door. When asked about the recent deportations, he gets nervous. “We are settled here. I will be shattered if my children and wife are sent back,” he says.

Policeman Iftikhar Ali—who hails from Mendhar sub-division near the LoC in Poonch district—and his eight siblings narrowly escaped deportation—a fate averted only through the timely intervention of judiciary. According to officials, the nine members of the extended family were among over two dozen people, mostly from PoK, who were served ‘Leave India’ notices by the authorities and were taken to Punjab for deportation. However, Ali and his eight siblings were brought back to Salwah, their village in Poonch, after the high court admitted their petition claiming that they were not Pakistani nationals and have been living in Salwah for generations.

Ali라이브 바카라 parents spent a long time at a camp in Tralkhal after they crossed over to PoK during the 1965 war. The couple and their nine children returned to their village in 1983. After a long struggle, they were admitted as permanent residents between 1997 and 2000 but their nationality still remained pending with the central government.

“We have a centuries-old history of being the bona fide residents of Salwah with both our parents and other ancestors buried in the village. The notice came as a shocker to our family comprising more than 200 members, including some serving in the Army,” said Ali, who lives with his wife and three children. They decided to approach the high court, that stayed the family라이브 바카라 deportation.

Many families are stuck in Bandipora as well. The police told the wives of former militants and their children living in the villages of Bandipora to leave by April 27. They, in turn, informed the police that they don’t have proper documents and are still living here. When asked about these families, Harmeet Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Bandipora says: “A notice was issued earlier, but now they won’t be deported.” A senior police official posted in a North Kashmir district said that the senior officials have conveyed to the people that the wives and other family members of the surrendered militants trained in PoK will not be deported.

Among those who are stuck in Srinagar are the four children of Nisar Ahmad, a tailor. “They were all born in Pakistan. When the announcement about the deportation was made, they packed their bags and were ready to go to the Wagah border. However, no one has told us to leave yet,” says Nisar, who returned to Kashmir in 2018.

The wives of former militants who have been told to leave have been living in India for many years. They have been casting votes and also have documents like Aadhar cards.

Somiya Sadaf, the wife of an ex-militant, who runs a dairy and sheep-rearing business in the border district of Kupwara is among those. She left Muzaffarabad in PoK in 2010 and chose to come to Kupwara with her husband. She sought to contest the District Development Council (DDC) elections in 2020. However, her candidature was rejected and her name was deleted from the electoral rolls, but she cast the ballot at least thrice in different elections since.

In the past, many families have availed the benefit of government schemes, but many rued that they were unable to go to Pakistan and meet their loved ones as the authorities refused to give them travel permits.

After the initial announcement following the Pahalgam attack, the deportation process took a political turn.

Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president, called on the government to reconsider the decision to deport people. “The recent government directive to deport all Pakistani nationals from India has raised serious humanitarian concerns, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir. 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. We urge the government to reconsider this decision and adopt a compassionate approach regarding women, children, and the elderly. Deporting individuals who have lived peacefully in India for decades would not only be inhumane but would inflict deep emotion,” she said.

Former minister and president of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Front (PDF), Hakeem Yaseen, said: “Pakistani nationals who are the wives of former Kashmiri militants should not be deported. They came to the Valley legally and they deserve the right to live in peace and dignity. Deporting the wives of former militants, who entered the Valley through legal channels, would severely impact their families and create a humanitarian crisis. They should be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds. Forcing them to leave will create a deep void in society.”

Ashok Koul, BJP라이브 바카라 J&K General Secretary (Organisation), however, slammed the Kashmir-based parties for giving a political colour to the issue. “Some families have been provided relief by the courts. It is not that only we have deported people; Pakistan has also deported our citizens,” he said.

Ishfaq Naseem is senior special correspondent, 바카라. He is based in Srinagar

This article is part of 바카라라이브 바카라 May 22, 2025 issue, ‘Is This War?’, covering the tense four-day standoff that brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war. It appeared in print as 'Parted, Again'.