Despite HC order, J&K cop, 8 siblings taken to Punjab for deportation

A police personnel and his eight siblings, including five sisters, were shifted from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab for their deportation to Pakistan on Wednesday, despite the high court admitting their plea against the step and granting them temporary relief.

- Press Trust of India

JAMMU:

The nine members of the extended family were among the more than two dozen people, mostly from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), who were served deportation notices by authorities in Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts.

In the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people, 25 tourists and a local, dead, the Centre announced a slew of measures, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading diplomatic relations with Islamabad and ordering all Pakistanis on short-term visas to leave India by April 27 or face action.

The Pakistani nationals, many of whom were living in the Jammu region for decades, were taken in buses to Punjab, where they will be handed over to Pakistani authorities on Wednesday.

The police personnel, Ifthkar Ali, 45, and his eight siblings, including five sisters aged between 42 and 56 years, got a respite when the high court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh admitted their petition claiming that they are not Pakistani nationals and have been living in Salwah village for generations.