Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 24 (HBTV): Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country where 100 percent of Pakistani citizens have been sent back, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath personally monitoring the process, the Chief Minister's Office said in a press release.
This development follows the Indian government's decision to revoke all existing visas issued to Pakistani nationals, except for long-term and diplomatic visas, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
CM Yogi held a high-level meeting and instructed officials to take immediate action. A police team was subsequently dispatched to ensure the return of Pakistani nationals to their country.
Currently, one Pakistani citizen remains in the state and is expected to return to Pakistan on Wednesday. Police departments and intelligence agencies are maintaining strict surveillance of the individual.
A campaign was launched across all 75 districts of the state to facilitate the return of Pakistani citizens. Following the central government’s announcement of the closure of the Integrated Check Post (ICP), movement across the Indo-Pakistan border continued on Monday.
A resident of Pakistan’s Amarkot district was seen departing with his family at the Attari border.
‘I stayed here for four months with one of my relatives. We are returning since there are orders, and we don't have a long-term visa. What happened (in Pahalgam) is wrong, and we are paying for it (because of the terrorists). It will be good if both countries work together,’ he said.
According to an official, a total of 537 Pakistani nationals have left India through the Attari border over the past three days after the deadline for short-term visa holders ended on Sunday.
Arun Pal, a protocol officer at the Attari Border, told ANI that 850 Indian nationals have returned to India in the past three days. On Sunday alone, 237 Pakistani nationals returned to Pakistan, while 116 Indian nationals came back.
‘Custom immigration counters opened at 10 am. Before the counters closed, 237 Pakistani nationals returned to Pakistan from India, and 116 Indian nationals returned from Pakistan. From April 24, 537 Pakistani nationals have returned to Pakistan, and 850 Indian nationals have returned to India. According to the latest information, Pakistani passport holders have until April 29 to cross the border. The same applies to Indian passport holders,’ Pal said.
Another Pakistani national returning via the Attari border said, ‘We came to visit Nagpur and since our visa expired, we are going back. Someone else is being punished for someone else's deeds. Whatever happened in Pahalgam was wrong and innocents should not have been tortured.’
On Friday, the Indian government revoked all categories of visas issued to Pakistani citizens, except long-term, diplomatic, and official visas, with immediate effect from April 27. The decision followed the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
The attack, which occurred around 2 pm at Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam, resulted in the deaths of 26 people, including one Nepalese national. It was one of the deadliest terror incidents in the region since the 2019 Pulwama attack, which killed 40 CRPF personnel.
(ANI)