CHANDIGARH: Following India's decision to suspend the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES), Pakistani nationals in India are queuing up at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari near Amritsar to return to their country through the Attari-Wagah land route.
Pakistani nationals were given a 48-hour deadline to leave the country after the terrorist attack at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on Tuesday, which killed 26 tourists.
A family from Karachi said they went to Delhi to meet their relatives. "We had a visa for 45 days and came here to attend an event. We were here since April 15," said a family member who do not wish to share his name.
"Closing the border is a wrong move. There should be brotherhood between the two nations," he added.
Condemning the Pahalgam attack, another Pakistani national, Mansoor, who came to India on a 90-day visa with his family on April 15, said, "It should not have happened; whoever has done it is completely wrong. We want mutual brotherhood and friendship between the two nations. But we are returning home today.’’
Meanwhile, the retreat ceremonies at the Attari-Wagah and Hussainiwala border points will continue.
A senior officer of the Border Security Force (BSF) told TNIE on condition of anonymity that a calibrated decision has been made to scale down the ceremonial display at the Attari border during the retreat ceremony.
"The key changes include suspension of the symbolic handshake of the Indian Guard Commander with the counterpart Commander and gates will remain closed during the ceremony,’’ he said.
A few Indian nationals with visas to travel to Pakistan also reached the ICP, hoping to go to Pakistan, which included a family from Gujarat who intended to meet their relatives in Karachi.
"We got the visa two months back,” said an elderly member of the family. However, when told that the Attari land transit post has been shut, the elderly man said they were prepared to return home if asked.
Two men from Rajasthan, who reached Amritsar yesterday evening to cross over to Pakistan, said they were unaware of the shutdown of the Attari land-transit post.
Shaitan Singh who was to go to Pakistan for his wedding, said, "What the terrorists have done is wrong. We are not being allowed to go to Pakistan as the border is closed, let us see what will happen now.’’
Surinder Singh, who was going to Pakistan for his brother's wedding, said the wedding will be postponed now. "My grandmother and her four sons stay in Pakistan, and her one son stays in India. The attack on tourists in Pahalgam was very wrong.’’
A Pakistani national, Mohammed Jameel, also condemned the attack as he said, "Whoever’s blood is being shed is wrong, even if it is mine, or someone else’s, everyone’s heart beats the same.’’
Sources said that there are approximately a few hundred Indians in Pakistan who are likely to return before May 1. As per the official data, the movement of people via this border has significantly come down in the last few years.
In 2017-18, around 80,314 crossed, which declined to 78,675 in 2019-20, and in 2020-21 it fell to 6,177 due to COVID-19, and then in 2023-24 it went up to 71,563.
Meanwhile, the retreat ceremonies at the Attari-Wagah and Hussainiwala border points are likely to continue, said sources.
While on the trade front, presently the trade with Afghanistan is only going via the Attari-Wagah border and trade with Pakistan is suspended since August 2019 after the Pulwama attacks.
"We are not sure about the status of trade with Afghanistan. There is uncertainty, and we are waiting for clarification,” said a leading importer on condition of anonymity.
The Union Government had yesterday announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the terror attack.
The decisions were taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which announced that the integrated check-post (ICP) at Attari will be closed with immediate effect and those who have crossed over to Pakistan with valid documents may return through that route before May 1.
