{ STORIES FROM BORDER DISTRICTS } Love, marriage and separation amid Indo-Pak tensions

As India and Pakistan grapple with renewed tensions and diplomatic freeze following Operation Sindoor, the impact has spilled beyond military manoeuvres and policy decisions — striking at the very core of human relationships.

- Mukesh Mathrai

Amid suspended dialogues and cancelled visas, love stories once blessed across borders now stand ruptured.

In Western Rajasthan and Punjab, where cross-border marriages have long been a bridge between hearts, dozens of families find themselves broken — dreams halted, weddings postponed, and lives placed in limbo.

In one remarkable case, a family from western Rajasthan, despairing of any future thaw in relations between the two nations, decided to shift their son’s wedding to neutral Nepal. There, both Indian and Pakistani families gathered, and the couple tied the knot — far from home, yet united in defiance of division.

The family, belonging to the Suthar community, chose to remain anonymous. They had fixed their son's engagement with a girl from the Tharparkar district in Pakistan, and the wedding was scheduled for June. Following this, the bride’s family applied for Indian visas. However, before the visas could be approved, the Pahalgam terror attack shattered their hopes.