SC protects Pak-origin family from deportation

Nobody from the Pakistan side returned to India on Friday

- Abraham Thomas

AMRITSAR: Nearly 27 Pakistan nationals returned home on Friday after the country reopened the Wagah gates after keeping it shut for a whole day.

Nobody from the Pakistan side returned to India on the day.

Nearly three dozen Pakistan nationals, who came from various parts of India, were left stranded on the India side of the Attari-Wagah border check post on Thursday as Pakistan had refused to open the gates. While some of them spent the night at the border, others took shelter in the nearby gurdwaras.

Among the Pakistan nationals who went home were several women who had been living in India for the 10-15 years after marrying Indian citizens. They were asked to leave as they continued to hold Pakistan passports.

Another Pakistan national, Rova, whose plight HT had highlighted on these pages on May 2, was allowed to stay back in India on humanitarian grounds. Rova, a Karachi native who got married to a Delhi resident three years ago, is eight months pregnant. She also has a one-year-old child, whom she would have had to leave behind, if she were to go to Karachi, as he holds an Indian citizenship.