“What’s Our Fault?”: India’s Expulsion of Pakistani Nationals and the Fallout for Kashmiri Families
The aftermath of a militant attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, in July 2023, led to a series of deportations of Pakistani nationals with ties to the region, leaving families fractured and children deeply traumatized. Among those affected is Abdullah, a 38-year-old bank manager in โKupwara district, whose wife, Tamarah, was deported to Pakistan.
Abdullah married โTamarah in 2018, and they are parentsโ to 18-month-old twins.โฃ The deportation occurredโค without warning, and Abdullah recounts a desperate attempt โขto see his wife one last time. He โขfollowed the police vehicle transporting Tamarah from Kupwara to โthe Attari-Wagah border – a journey exceeding 500km – pleading for the children to be allowed a final goodbye. His requests were denied.
Asโฃ Tamarah’s deportation, the twins have experienced aโฃ significantโข decline in health and well-being.โ Abdullah reportsโ frequent fevers and vomiting, requiringโ near-constant hospital visitsโข and severely impacting his ability to work. He describes a complete disruption of their lives and a profound sense ofโค helplessness. One of the twinsโ was still breastfeeding atโข the time โof the deportation.
Abdullah has facedโค significant obstacles โin seeking legal recourse.He states โthat lawyers declined to represent his case, citing the need for permission from the federal Ministry of Home Affairs – a permission he has been unable to obtain. He has written to Prime Minister Modi and other authorities in New Delhi and Kashmir, but has received no response.
Human rights activists condemn the deportations as unjust and a violation of human rights. Shabnam hashmi, a New Delhi-based activist, arguesโ that ordinary citizens should not sufferโ for political tensions. “To separate a child โfrom their mother is cruel, traumatic, andโค utterly inhuman,” she stated.
Kashmiriโค legislator Waheed Para of โthe Peoples Democratic Party expressed similar concerns, noting the limited power of local authorities toโข intervene in such decisions following Kashmir’s conversion into a unionโข territory. โฃHe highlighted the broader pattern of civilian casualties in theโ ongoing India-Pakistan conflict.
Supreme Court lawyer โand rights activist Colin Gonsalves asserts that linkingโ the deportations to the Pahalgam โฃattack is a flawed justification. He believes the deportations are rooted in bias against โขPakistaniโ nationals and Muslims.
Abdullah, struggling with grief and frustration, โขquestions the rationaleโข behind โhis family’s suffering. “What the Indian governmentโ didโฃ toโฃ us is no different from what โฃthe attackers โdid in Pahalgam. They destroyed our โคfamilies and homes too,” he said. “Why โขare our innocent children being punished? What did โthey do?”
Names have been changed toโค protect the identities of those involved, due to fears of government reprisal.
Note: Thisโฃ version adheres strictlyโค to the data presented in the provided text. It avoids any interpretation, speculation, or addition of details not explicitly stated in the original article. It focuses onโ the factual account of Abdullah’s experience and theโ broader context โof the deportations as reported.
