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.
About 21 Pakistani nationals stranded at the Attari-Wagah border following the expiry of the Indian government's deadline for them to leave the country crossed over into Pakistan through the land route of the Integrated Check Post on Friday, officials said. In wake of last week's Pahalgam terror attack, the Indian government cancelled all types of visas granted to Pakistani nationals and ordered them to leave by April 30. The Attari-Wagah border, located near Amritsar in India and Lahore in Pakistan, was shut on Thursday after being kept open till April 30. According to reports, about 70 Pakistani nationals were stranded at the border on Thursday after the deadline for them to leave India expired a day earlier. The 21 Pakistani nationals who entered Pakistan till 12 pm on Friday had been camping on the roads outside the Integrated Check Post. About 50 more Pakistani nationals are queuing outside the Integrated Check Post and may be allowed to cross over into Pakistan after due clearance of customs and immigration authorities. Pakistan on Friday announced it would continue to allow the use of the Wagah border crossing for its citizens stranded in India.
"Pakistani officials told us you are Hindu, you cannot go with a Sikh jatha," said Amar Chand, who was sent back along with six of his family members after they crossed over to the neighbouring nation to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev.
An Indian Sikh woman who traveled to Pakistan as part of a pilgrimage has converted to Islam and married a Pakistani man she met online. Her disappearance is being investigated in India.
'I hang my head in shame when I see the kind of respect and reception that has been given to the representative of the world's worst terrorist group Taliban, by those who beat the pulpit against all kinds of terrorists'
Several Pakistani nationals visiting India started returning home through the Attari-Wagah land route in Amritsar on Thursday, a day after the Centre set a 48-hour deadline for them to leave the country. The decision came after India announced a raft of measures, including the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960, and the immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the horrific terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians on Tuesday.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi addressed the controversy surrounding the absence of women journalists at a recent press interaction in New Delhi, stating there was no intention to exclude them. He also discussed trade and investment opportunities between Afghanistan and India.
Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) members on Monday to discuss opportunities in his country, especially in the mining sector. The Taliban, who now control Afghanistan, is seeking to repair its ties with New Delhi, and is hopeful of Indian public and private sectors increasing investments in the mining and power sector, and greater trade and commerce.
As India's deadline for Pakistani citizens to leave the country passed, chaotic scenes unfolded at the Attari-Wagah land crossing in Punjab.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi announced that Kabul will send diplomats to India as part of efforts to improve bilateral relations. He assured New Delhi that Afghan soil will not be used for activities detrimental to India's interests.
Pakistani authorities have released 198 Indian fishermen, who were languishing at a jail in Karachi after being arrested for allegedly fishing illegally in the country's waters, and handed them over to India at the Wagah border.
'Only those who live through these situations understand the true cost of war.'
The Border Security Force (BSF) has shot dead a Pakistani intruder along the International Border in Punjab. The man was shot during the intervening night of May 7-8 in the Ferozepur sector, officials said. He was found crossing the International Border purposefully in the dark.
A Meerut woman, married to a Pakistani national, was denied entry to Pakistan at the Wagah border after she presented her Indian passport. She was accompanied by her two children who hold Pakistani citizenship. The authorities permitted the children to cross but Sana refused to separate from them, resulting in her return to India.
Purnam Kumar Shaw, a BSF jawan who was held captive in Pakistan for nearly three weeks, returned to his home in West Bengal's Hooghly district on Friday evening. Shaw was greeted by his family and well-wishers at Howrah station and was escorted to his hometown Rishra, where he was welcomed by people and a band playing patriotic tunes. Shaw had been taken into custody by Pakistan Rangers on April 23, after he inadvertently crossed the international border in Punjab's Ferozepur district.
Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have deported 60 Pakistanis, including the mother of a Shaurya Chakra awardee who was killed in a terror attack. The deportees, comprising wives and children of ex-militants, were taken to Punjab and will be handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border. The move comes in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, with the Centre taking several measures against Pakistan.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed authorities not to deport to Pakistan six members of a family, who allegedly overstayed their visa, till their citizenship claim is verified.
The announcements were made after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to formulate the country's response to India's move to suspend the Indus Water Treaty and downgrade diplomatic ties after the Pahalgam terror attack.
Pakistan on Wednesday handed over Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Purnam Kumar Shaw, apprehended on April 23, to India via the Attari-Wagah border front in Punjab, the force said.
The intruder, who is in his early 20s, was taken into custody by Army troops soon after he entered into this side from across the LoC.
The Border Security Force on Friday said it has killed seven terrorists who were trying to infiltrate from across the India-Pakistan International Border in Jammu, and also destroyed a Rangers post.
23 Indian nationals who were in Pakistan for the production and broadcast of the Pakistan Super League were sent back.
Emphasising that human rights are the most sacrosanct component of a human life, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ordered the Union Home Ministry to facilitate the return of a woman deported to Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
A police officer and his eight siblings, including five sisters, were deported to Pakistan on Wednesday despite a court order granting them temporary relief. The nine members of the extended family, who have been living in Jammu and Kashmir for generations, were among more than two dozen people, mostly from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who were served deportation notices following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The deportation has sparked outrage, with protests and appeals for intervention from the home minister and lieutenant governor. The family members claim they are not Pakistani nationals and have been living in the region for generations, presenting revenue records to support their claims. The court has ordered a detailed report on the case within two weeks and will hear it again on May 20.
Olympic medallist Saina also attended the Beating Retreat ceremony, a daily flag-lowering ceremony jointly conducted by the BSF and the Pakistan Rangers at the Wagah border, the border outpost located between Amritsar and Lahore.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday said that the chances of conflict with India were increasing with the passage of time despite efforts by different countries to defuse the tensions between the two neighbours.
The exit deadline for Pakistani nationals visiting India on SAARC visas ended on April 26, while for the rest, except those on medical visas, it is set to close on Sunday, April 27 amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
Chawdhary announced this after laying a wreath at the Amar Prahari memorial at the BS Headquarters in Jammu in remembrance of the fallen soldiers.
'Operation Sindoor is still ongoing. The Prime Minister himself said that blood and water cannot flow together, that talks and terrorism cannot go together. So how can we have a cricket match with a country that indulges in terrorism?'
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said on Friday that the ceasefire with India was holding and the country is committed to it. He also said that Pakistan is committed to making the ceasefire hold and de-escalation succeed, and then engagement to lead to stability and resolution of issues. Khan said that the two militaries have a channel of communication through the Directors General of Military Operations, through which they are working for de-escalation, in terms of the movement of troops. He added that Pakistan remains committed to the ceasefire announced on May 10 and lately, both sides have taken steps for de-escalation and return of stability.
Following a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, India has ordered all Pakistani nationals to leave the country within 48 hours. This has led to a mass exodus of Pakistani citizens from India, while several women married to Pakistani nationals and holding Indian passports are facing difficulties returning to their families in Pakistan.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has scaled down the retreat ceremony held at Attari, Hussainiwala and Sadki along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. The BSF's Punjab frontier said it was suspending the symbolic handshake of the Indian guard commander with the counterpart and the border gates will remain closed during the ceremony. The move is seen as a response to the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 people were killed.
This marked the sixth consecutive night of ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the LoC, amidst heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad following a recent terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
The firing exchanges are taking places in five districts out of seven border districts of Jammu and Kashmir. So far, there has been no firing reports along International Border in Samba and Kathua districts.
Pakistani troops continued unprovoked small arms firing in different sectors along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir for the 10th consecutive night, prompting effective retaliation by the Indian army. The ceasefire violations, which started after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, were reported from eight places across five districts in the Union Territory during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. Indian Army responded promptly and proportionately to the unprovoked firing, a defence spokesperson said.
The Army further made it clear that the continuation of a break in hostilities, as decided in the DGMOs interaction of May 12, has no expiry date to it.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for a 'composite dialogue' with India to address the contentious issues between the two sides.
Later in the day, Athletics Federation of India (AFI), the organisers of the event, said the Pakistan contingent has arrived at Wagah border.
A day after 61 people died in a suicide attack, India and Pakistan solemnly lowered their national flags at the Beating Retreat ceremony at the Wagah border.
The exchange of fire occurred even though the directors general of military operations of India and Pakistan spoke over the hotline on Tuesday amid rising tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
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