Mother of Shaurya awardee faces deportation as J&K deports 60 Pakistanis

The mother of a Shaurya Chakra awardee is among 60 Pakistanis being deported from J&K, as families plead for mercy after decades of living in India

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have begun deporting 60 Pakistani nationals, including the mother of a Shaurya Chakra awardee who died fighting terrorists, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

 

The Pakistani nationals, drawn from multiple districts, was assembled and transported by buses to Punjab. They are set to be handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border, officials said.

 

The move comes in the wake of last week’s terror attack in Pahalgam, after which the Centre announced a series of tough measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, the downgrading of diplomatic ties, and an order for all Pakistanis on short-term visas to leave India by April 27 or face legal action. 

 

Most of the deportees are family members of former militants who had returned under Jammu and Kashmir’s 2010 rehabilitation policy. Of the 60, 36 were living in Srinagar, nine each in Baramulla and Kupwara, four in Budgam, and two in Shopian district.

 

Among those being deported is Shameema Akhtar, the mother of Constable Mudasir Ahmad Shaikh, who was killed in May 2022 during an operation to intercept foreign terrorists. Part of an undercover team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Mudasir was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra. Shameema, accompanied by her husband, received the honour from President Droupadi Murmu in May 2023.

 

Expressing dismay, Mudasir’s uncle, Mohammad Younus, said, “My sister-in-law is from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is our territory. Only Pakistanis should have been deported.”

 

Younus also pointed out that following Mudasir’s death, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Lieutenant Governor had personally visited the family. “My sister-in-law was 20 years old when she came here and has been living here for 45 years now. My appeal to [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and Amit Shah is that they should not do it,” he pleaded. 

Shameema had married Mohammad Maqsood, a retired police officer, well before militancy gripped the Valley in 1990. 

In tribute to Mudasir’s sacrifice, the main town square in Baramulla has been renamed Shaheed Mudasir Chowk.

 

[With agency inputs]