‘Why is common man being troubled?’: Indian woman married to Pakistani seeks return

An Indian passport holder, Sharmeen Irfan, is attempting to return to Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border crossing in Amritsar. Irfan, who has been married to a Pakistani national for 12 years and has a young child, came to India to visit her ailing mother.

Irfan obtained a visa from the Pakistan embassy, which advised her to cross the border on the same day. She is now trying to return to her husband and child in Karachi.

Irfan condemned the recent Pahalgam terror attack, calling for an end to terrorism and strict action against those responsible. "The incident which happened (in Pahalgam) was wrong. Terrorism should be ended, but why is the common man being troubled?" she questioned.

Irfan expressed frustration over the complexities of border crossings and the impact on ordinary people. She hopes to return to her family in Pakistan soon.

Another woman, a half-Pakistani national, also expressed her frustration over the separation of families due to border restrictions. She appealed to the government to allow her to return to Pakistan with her children.

"Those who did this attack should be severely punished. But what is our fault in this? Why are our families being separated? Who will talk about what is happening with cross-border families? I appeal to the government to let me go to Pakistan with my children. I am a half-Pakistani national. I obtained the Pakistani visa yesterday," she said.

The terror attack, which claimed 26 lives was one of the deadliest attacks in the region since the 2019 Pulwama attack.

Following the Indian government's decision to cancel Pakistani visas, many Pakistani citizens, including Suraj Kumar, a Pakistani Hindu, are returning to Pakistan through the Attari border crossing. Kumar expressed his desire to reunite with his family and criticised the suffering of common citizens due to border tensions.

He said, “ ...once the border opens, we will go home, to our children...what happened is wrong (Pahalgam attack)...if discussions happen, then only solutions can be found...we common citizens are suffering...I had come here to meet my family members, I couldn't visit everyone...I wanted to take my mother to Haridwar...I stay in Balochistan and belong to a Hindu family.”

On the other hand, India has closed its airspace to all aircraft registered in Pakistan and those operated by Pakistani airlines, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), another major step following the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed.

India issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on Wednesday, confirming the closure of its airspace to all Pakistani-registered, operated, or leased aircraft, including military flights, from April 30 to May 23 (estimated duration).

Both India and Pakistan have now blocked each other's airlines from using their airspace, as the neighbouring country had already announced this step six days ago.