Respite from deportation shadow for mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee, but 59 others from J&K get knock on their door | India News

Late Tuesday evening, the Baramulla police issued a statement that read: “His sacrifice is a matter of immense pride for Jammu and Kashmir Police and the entire nation. J&K police urges the public and media to refrain from spreading misinformation.”

In a video that emerged online after the police denial, Begum is heard saying, “There was an issue with someone in our neighbourhood. I was sick, so around the same time, my family brought me to Srinagar. Everyone thought that the police had taken me away, but there is nothing like that. These videos are incorrect and this is all a rumour; there is no such issue.”

However, earlier in the day, her family had claimed Begum (65) was “taken from her home” on Monday. Mohammad Younus Sheikh, Mudassir’s uncle, said, “Her father left for Pakistan during the Partition. He then married there, and after his wife passed away, he came back with his daughter. He is also buried here.”

“The SHO of our area came to our house in the evening, stating that her name was among the list of people who have been asked to leave, but I have been informed today that her deportation has been put on hold,” her son, Nasir Maqsood, told The Indian Express.

“My brother made the supreme sacrifice for the country; how can my mother be asked to leave?” he said, adding, “She’s in Srinagar right now.”

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have, meanwhile, transported 59 people to Punjab for deportation to Pakistan.

In one case, with his two-year-old son beside him in the car, Mudassir Ahmad from Srinagar followed the bus in which his wife, Sumaira, was being taken to Amritsar for deportation. “I am just short of Jammu, driving behind this convoy. My two-year-old is in my mother’s lap. She is trying to feed him, and his mother is being deported to Pakistan,” he told The Indian Express over the phone.

From Rawalpindi in Pakistan, Sumaira first came to Kashmir in 2017. She and Mudassir were married the same year, and since then, he says that all her documents are regularly updated. “We check in with our local police station regularly. Her long-term visa (LTV) is up to date,” he claimed.

He said that ever since the government ordered people of Pakistani origin to leave the country, he had been keeping track of his wife’s case with the Foreigners Registration Office in Srinagar. “I have never faced any issue with regard to her citizenship,” he said.

However, he got a knock on his door from the police after midnight, and the family was taken to the District Police Line, Srinagar, where they met several others waiting to be moved to Amritsar.

In another part of Srinagar, Naziya Zargar spoke about her father’s first cousins – Ghulam Qadir and Dilshada (65) – being taken to the local police station late last night. On Tuesday morning, she said, they were also put on the buses of deportees and sent towards Attari.

“They are old; my aunt can barely walk without support. They came here 45 years ago and lived in Rajouri Kadal. There has never been an issue with their status before this,” she said.

Naziya said Ghulam Qadir’s eldest son was killed by “unknown gunmen” in 2001. After that, in 2003, his daughter passed away from a sudden heart attack. His only surviving child, a daughter, is married and lives in Kashmir. “The biggest heartbreak for them is that their kids are buried here,” she said.

Describing the events of Monday night, she said that the elderly couple “carried no belongings” with them as they were told they had to visit the Nowhatta police station for questioning. “They had sent a police vehicle, but since they are old, we took them in our car. From there, they were taken to the DPL at 1:30 am,” she said.

With reports of at least 28 individuals being taken to Attari by bus from Kashmir Valley, former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti urged the Centre to reconsider the decision.

“The recent government directive to deport all Pakistani nationals from India has raised serious humanitarian concerns, particularly in J&K. Many affected are women who came to India 30-40 years ago, married Indian citizens, raised families, and have long been part of our society,” she said.

“Deporting individuals who have lived peacefully in India for decades would not only be inhumane but would inflict deep emotional and physical distress on families who now know no other home,” she said.

On April 25, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had chaired a meeting of all District Collectors and Senior Superintendents of Police in J&K and directed officials to take “appropriate and necessary action” to ensure the deportation of Pakistani nationals as per the deadline notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs.