Nagpur: After six months of desperate wait, 363 persons stranded in Pakistan will be sent back to India through the Attari border on Monday. The order was issued by the ministry of interior, Pakistan of interior on Thursday.
They are Pakistani citizens who were living in India on long-term visas (LTVs) and had applied to take up Indian citizenship. They had gone back to Pakistan under no-obligation return to India (NORI) visas, granted for brief visits.
As the borders were sealed due to Covid, it not only left them stranded but also families were separated on either side. Both Hindus and Muslims, a number of them are from Maharashtra too.
There were mothers who had gone for family functions for a fortnight or so, leaving their two to five years olds behind in India. In one of the cases, both the parents were stranded in Pakistan while their kid remained in India with rest of the family.
TOI has been reporting the matter on a regular basis and had also taken up the case with senior politicians in Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI). BJP MP from Indore, Shanker Lalwani, and spiritual leader Dr Yudhishtir Lal Shadani had also taken up the issue with Indian ministries of home and external affairs.
Along with the 363 Pakistanis, the list has names of 36 Indian nationals too. They are mainly children or senior citizens who come with their kin who are citizens. A number of women had come to India after marriage and had gone on a NORI visa. As they awaited to get citizenship here, their children who were born here became Indian citizens.
Rajesh Jhambia of Sindhi Hindi Panchayat said, “The efforts of Lalwani and spiritual leader Dr Yudhishtir Lal Shadani, who had been vehemently pursuing the case, paid off. “Some more persons remain and it is expected that they will be sent back too,” he said.
In Pakistan, Ishaq Khan Khakwani, the senior vice-president of PTI said he referred the case to Parliamentary secretary foreign affairs, foreign office and Dr Ramesh Kumar, a member of national assembly. The first list was released in over a week after that.
Jhambia added as they were calling up the foreign office in Pakistan, it was also pointed out that some Pakistani citizens stranded in India also needed to be repatriated. The first batch left on Thursday.
They are Pakistani citizens who were living in India on long-term visas (LTVs) and had applied to take up Indian citizenship. They had gone back to Pakistan under no-obligation return to India (NORI) visas, granted for brief visits.
As the borders were sealed due to Covid, it not only left them stranded but also families were separated on either side. Both Hindus and Muslims, a number of them are from Maharashtra too.
There were mothers who had gone for family functions for a fortnight or so, leaving their two to five years olds behind in India. In one of the cases, both the parents were stranded in Pakistan while their kid remained in India with rest of the family.
TOI has been reporting the matter on a regular basis and had also taken up the case with senior politicians in Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI). BJP MP from Indore, Shanker Lalwani, and spiritual leader Dr Yudhishtir Lal Shadani had also taken up the issue with Indian ministries of home and external affairs.
Along with the 363 Pakistanis, the list has names of 36 Indian nationals too. They are mainly children or senior citizens who come with their kin who are citizens. A number of women had come to India after marriage and had gone on a NORI visa. As they awaited to get citizenship here, their children who were born here became Indian citizens.
Rajesh Jhambia of Sindhi Hindi Panchayat said, “The efforts of Lalwani and spiritual leader Dr Yudhishtir Lal Shadani, who had been vehemently pursuing the case, paid off. “Some more persons remain and it is expected that they will be sent back too,” he said.
In Pakistan, Ishaq Khan Khakwani, the senior vice-president of PTI said he referred the case to Parliamentary secretary foreign affairs, foreign office and Dr Ramesh Kumar, a member of national assembly. The first list was released in over a week after that.
Jhambia added as they were calling up the foreign office in Pakistan, it was also pointed out that some Pakistani citizens stranded in India also needed to be repatriated. The first batch left on Thursday.
Coronavirus outbreak
Trending Topics
LATEST VIDEOS
More from TOI
Navbharat Times
Featured Today in Travel
Quick Links
Kerala Coronavirus Helpline NumberHaryana Coronavirus Helpline NumberUP Coronavirus Helpline NumberBareilly NewsBhopal NewsCoronavirus in DelhiCoronavirus in HyderabadCoronavirus in IndiaCoronavirus symptomsCoronavirusRajasthan Coronavirus Helpline NumberAditya ThackerayShiv SenaFire in MumbaiAP Coronavirus Helpline NumberArvind KejriwalJammu Kashmir Coronavirus Helpline NumberSrinagar encounter
Get the app