Pahalgama attack aftermath: Pakistan shuts Wagah gate, leaves its citizens stranded

ATTARI: Pakistan refused Thursday to open the gates at Wagah border post across Punjab's Attari, leaving dozens of its people and those deported from India stranded in the no-man's-land of diplomatic deadlock.

No Pakistani nationals were allowed to cross the border, Indian officials said, though Afghan trucks were granted entry into India. Pakistan's foreign ministry cited "brotherly relations" with Afghanistan for the exception, highlighting the selective nature of the border movement.

Pakistan had allowed its nationals to return until April 29, but by Thursday, the gates remained closed, deepening a standoff that has left families torn between two countries - forced to bear the consequences of a visa suspension following the April 20 terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

Among them were two elderly sisters, unsure of where they belong - or where they'll be allowed to go. For Saeeda Sagir Fatima and Saeeda Jameer Fatima, born in Lahore but long settled in Srinagar, the closed gate came as a reprieve from what they feared would be a forced exile.

The two, physically frail and clutching bags packed for a one-way trip, had lived in India for over 40 years after entering legally with passports and visas.

Despite years of appeals and a court order, their applications for Indian citizenship were denied. Saeeda Sagir, who is physically disabled, wept.

"Who will take us in there?" she asked, referring to Pakistan. "May our final breath be on Indian soil, and may we be laid to rest here."

Just yards away, the same closed gate brought anguish to two Indian sisters. Sharmin and Shakeela, who live in Karachi after marrying Pakistani men more than a decade ago, were unable to return home. They had travelled to India on March 27 to see their critically ill mother and were told they could re-enter Pakistan on May 1.

"It was surprising and shocking to find out that the border gates were closed," Sharmin said. Holding Indian passports and accompanied by their children, the sisters waited helplessly. Their brother Mohammad Shariq, who came to bid them farewell, said their lives - and their families - were rooted across the border areas.

Adding to the uncertainty, a group of Pakistani labourers, mostly Hindus who had been working in Rajasthan, also awaited return. They were instructed to leave India after the Pahalgam attack, despite having no links to the violence.

"We came here for finding work, not trouble," said Ganesh, one of the labourers. "Now we are being sent back to nothing. As minorities in Pakistan, our lives are harder than ever."

Local porters and Sikh volunteers from a nearby gurdwara stepped in to help, offering langar - free meals and water - to those stranded on the border.