On Thursday, many Pakistani visitors in India started returning home through the Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar. This comes a day after the Indian government gave a 48-hour deadline for all Pakistani nationals to leave the country.
The decision was made after a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which killed 26 people. The Indian government blamed cross-border connections for the attack and took strong steps in response. These include sending back Pakistani military staff, stopping the 1960 Indus Water Treaty, and shutting down the Attari land transit point.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that Pakistani citizens can no longer use the SAARC visa exemption scheme to enter India. Those already in the country under that scheme must leave within 48 hours.
A meeting of top Indian leaders, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, decided to close the Attari border crossing immediately. However, Pakistani citizens who crossed into India legally may return through that route until May 1.
On Thursday, many Pakistani families were seen at the Attari border. One man, Shaikh Fazal Ahmad from Karachi, said his family had come to Delhi to meet relatives and were now returning early. “We had a 45-day visa but are leaving today. The Pahalgam attack is completely wrong. We want peace and friendship, not hatred,” he said.
Another visitor, Mansoor, who had a 90-day visa, also returned on Thursday and condemned the attack. Another Pakistani, Mustafa, said forcing all Pakistanis to leave was not the right solution.
Some Indian citizens who had planned to travel to Pakistan were also at the border. A family from Gujarat was trying to visit relatives in Karachi, while Seema from Kanpur said she needed to visit her seriously ill sister in Pakistan. They were told about the border closure and said they were ready to return if not allowed to cross.
Two men from Rajasthan also reached Amritsar unaware that the border had been closed.
Meanwhile, Indian tourists in Amritsar expressed anger over the Pahalgam attack and called for strong action. One tourist from Maharashtra said, “Pakistan should be given a strong reply.”
The situation at the border remained tense but calm, with people expressing both sorrow over the attack and hope for peace between the two countries.
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