70 Pakistanis stranded as deadline expires
New Delhi: The Attari-Wagah border crossing point between India and Pakistan was shut completely on Thursday following a week-long heavy rush of people from either side to cross over after the Union government ordered all Pakistani citizens with short-term visa to leave India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, sources said.
The Attari-Wagah border crossing point is completely closed now and no one from either country crossed over to the other side on Thursday, two sources confirmed.
A total of 125 Pakistani nationals left India on Wednesday through the Attari-Wagah border, taking the total number of Pakistanis leaving the country to 911 in the last seven days.
Fifteen Indian citizens with Pakistani visa also crossed over to Pakistan on Wednesday, taking the total number of such people exiting India to 23.
Similarly, 152 Indian nationals and 73 Pakistani nationals with long-term Indian visa have entered India through the international border crossing point in Punjab’s Amritsar district, taking the total number of such people to 1,617 and 224, respectively.
The Centre issued the ‘Leave India’ notice to Pakistani nationals after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with Pakistan links in Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.
The deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26. For those carrying medical visas, the deadline was April 29.
The deadline for 12 other categories of visas was April 27. These were visas on arrival and visas for business, film, journalists, transit, conferences, mountaineering, students, visitors, group tourists, pilgrims and group pilgrims.
Three defence/military, naval and air advisors in the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were declared persona non grata on April 23 and were given one week to leave India. Five support staff of these defence attaches were also asked to leave India.
India also withdrew its defence attache from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
However, those having long-term, diplomatic or official visas were exempted from the ‘Leave-India’ order. Sources told PTI that altogether 125 Pakistani nationals left India through the Attari-Wagah border crossing point on April 30; a total of 94 Pakistani nationals, including 10 diplomats, left India on April 29; 145 Pakistanis, including 36 diplomats, their dependents and support staff, left on April 28; 237 Pakistanis, including nine diplomats and officials, left India on April 27; 81 left on April 26; 191 on April 25 and 28 on April 24.
Fifteen Indian nationals with Pakistani visa also left India through the international border crossing point on April 30 while eight Indians left India on April 29, the sources said.
Similarly, 152 Indian nationals crossed over to India from Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border crossing on April 30; 469 Indians, including 11 diplomats and officials, returned from Pakistan through the same route on April 29; 146 Indians returned on April 28; 116 Indians, including one diplomat, returned on April 27; 342 Indians, including 13 diplomats and officials, came back on April 26; 287 Indians crossed over from Pakistan on April 25 and 105 Indians returned on April 24, the sources said.
A total of 73 Pakistani nationals with long-term Indian visas came to the country through the border point on April 30; 22 Pakistani nationals came on April 29, while 129 Pakistanis with the same category of visas entered India on April 28.
Sources said some of the Pakistanis might have left India through airports too, pointing out that since India does not have direct air connectivity with Pakistan, they might have left for a third country.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 25 called up the chief ministers of all states and asked them to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline set for leaving the country.
After Shah’s telephonic conversations with the chief ministers, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan also held a videoconferencing with the chief secretaries of states and asked them to ensure that all Pakistani nationals whose visas were revoked leave India before the deadline.
The already-strained relations between India and Pakistan nosedived further after the horrific Pahalgam terror attack, with New Delhi announcing a raft of measures, including the cancellation of visas, against Islamabad, which hit back with a string of tit-for-tat measures.
