Page 2 - Pakistanis

Purpose of visit: Why Pakistanis travelled to India before Pahalgam attack

The number of visitors from neighbouring country has declined but their average duration of stay has increased

786 Pakistanis left India through Attari-Wagah border since Pahalgam attack

The Centre ordered Pakistani citizens to leave India by April 27 following outrage over the deadly attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 people - mostly tourists - dead

59 Pakistanis deported from Kashmir; Shaurya Chakra awardee's mother stays

Days after the tragic Pahalgam attack, Jammu and Kashmir authorities have transported 59 Pakistani nationals to Punjab for their repatriation to their country of origin, officials said here. According to officials, the Pakistani nationals, who were living in the valley for decades and included the mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee Constable Mudasir Ahmad Sheikh, were collected from various districts and taken in buses to Punjab, where they will be handed over to the Pakistani authorities. Shameema Akhtar, the mother of Constable Mudasir Ahmad Sheikh, who died in May 2022 while fighting terrorists, was one of the deportees. However, she was later allowed to stay back. In a carefully worded clarification, Shameema's brother-in-law Mohammad Younus said martyr Mudasir's mother has returned home as she was not taken for deportation. "We are thankful to the Government of India," Younus said. Earlier, Mudasir's uncle had told reporters that his sister-in-law belonged to Pakistan-occupied

Two killed, 56 injured after leaking oil tanker explodes in Pakistan

A leaking oil tanker caught fire and exploded along a dusty road in southwestern Pakistan, killing two people and injuring 56 others, officials said Tuesday. The explosion happened as firefighters were trying to put out the fire Monday in the Naushki district of Balochistan province, local police officer Atta Ullah said. Firefighters and people in a crowd that had gathered at the scene were among the injured. The tanker driver and a bystander were killed. Nearly a dozen of the injured were in critical condition and some were being airlifted to the southern city of Karachi, where better medical care is available, said Waseem Baig, a spokesman for Civil Hospital in Quetta. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti visited the Civil Hospital in Quetta, the capital of the province, and directed doctors to provide the best possible care to the victims. Deadly incidents involving oil tankers are not uncommon in Pakistan. In 2017, more than 200 people were killed in Ahmadpur East in Punj

All but one Pak citizen sent back from UP after Pahalgam attack: State govt

All Pakistani citizens, barring one, have been "expelled" from Uttar Pradesh under the Centre's orders after the Pahalgam terror attack, the state government said on Monday. The last Pakistani citizen is set to be deported on Wednesday and is under constant surveillance by police and intelligence agencies, it said in a statement. Uttar Pradesh has become the first state to achieve almost 100 per cent repatriation of Pakistani nationals within 24 hours, with only one remaining to be deported, it said, without mentioning the exact number of Pakistani nationals sent back. In response to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, the central government had issued immediate advisories for all states to repatriate Pakistani nationals. Acting swiftly, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath convened a high-level meeting with Home Department officials and other agencies. He issued strict instructions to "expel" all Pakistani citizens from Uttar Pradesh, directing police teams to personally escort the

'Where will I go?' Odisha woman faces deportation to Pak after 35 years

Amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, families with cross-border roots fear separation

'Let me stay, I'm India's daughter-in-law now,' pleads Seema Haider

I was Pakistan's daughter, but now I'm India's daughter-in-law, says Seema Haider as she fears deportation after the government suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals as part of a series of retaliatory steps following the Pahalgam terror attack. Haider made headlines in 2023 when she left Pakistan to marry her Indian lover, Sachin Meena. She was already married back home in Sindh province but had illegally entered India via Nepal along with her four children. In a video being shared on social media platforms, Seema says, "I do not want to go to Pakistan. I appeal to PM (Narendra) Modi and UP CM Yogi (Adityanath) to let me stay in India" Haider claims that she adopted Hinduism after marrying Meena. Despite the countrywide backlash, her lawyer is hopeful that she will be allowed to live in India, as, he claimed, she was no longer a Pakistani citizen. "Seema is no longer a Pakistani national. She married Sachin Meena, a resident of Greater Noida, and recently gave birth to t

'Doing dirty work for US, West': Pak min admits to terror funding

Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif has admitted the country's history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations as dirty work for the West, a mistake for which he said Pakistan had suffered. In an interview with Sky News aired overnight, news presenter Yalda Hakim questioned Asif on Pakistan's response and stance on terrorism in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people earlier this week. You do admit, sir, that Pakistan has had a long history of backing and supporting and training and funding these terrorist organisations, asked Hakim. Well, we have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades, you know, and the West, including Britain, replied Asif. That was a mistake, and we suffered from that, and that is why you are saying this to me. If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on the war after 9/11, Pakistan's track record was an unimpeachable track record, he said. It is very

'Identify Pakistani nationals, ensure their return': Amit Shah to CMs

Amit Shah directs CMs to identify Pakistani nationals in their states and ensure their swift return days after the Pahalgam terror attack

After India sets deadline, Pakistanis return through Attari-Wagah route

Several Pakistani nationals visiting India started returning home through the Attari-Wagah land route in Amritsar on Thursday, a day after the Centre set a 48-hour deadline for them to leave the country. The Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post in view of the cross-border links to the horrific terror attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians on Tuesday. According to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption scheme (SVES) and any Pakistani national currently in India under the SVES visa scheme had 48 hours to leave the country. The decisions were taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which announced that the integrated check-post (ICP) at Attari will be closed with immediat

At least 20 attacks on American fast food outlets in Apr, says Pak minister

Pakistan government on Saturday disclosed that at least 20 outlets of American fast-food chains across the country were attacked by religious extremists this month during the anti-Israel protests. One employee of the KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) outlet was killed and almost 160 suspects arrested. In most attacks, the activists of radical Islamist party -- Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) -- were involved. Pakistan's Interior State Minister Tallal Chaudhry told a press conference on Saturday near here that the government would protect the lives and properties, whether they are of Pakistani businesses or foreigners investing here. Anyone who would attack such outlets would be dealt with strictly, he said. He, however, appeared to be giving a clean chit to the TLP as he said all political parties, especially religio-political parties, have distanced themselves from such incidents. Some party's workers might have been present in their personal capacity, but no party is connected to t

Baloch rebels kill 8 Pakistanis in attack on car repair workshop in Iran

Eight Pakistani workers were killed by Baloch militants who stormed a car repair workshop and opened fire after tying up the victims in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province, officials said on Sunday. All eight workers hailed from several areas of Punjab, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported. It said that the armed men barged into the workshop sometime on Saturday night in a village in the Meharistan district and, after tying the workers' hands and feet, opened indiscriminate firing and killed them. Later, the attackers fled from the site. A spokesman for the banned Balochistan National Army (BNA) claimed responsibility for the killing of eight Pakistanis. The incident prompted Islamabad to demand "full cooperation" from Tehran in investigating these "inhumane and cowardly" murders. Pakistan strongly condemns the inhumane and cowardly killing of its nationals in Iran. We hope for Iranian side's full cooperation in investigating the matter and in timely repatriation of vict

4 suspected 'facilitators' of Jaffar Express attack arrested in Pak: Report

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Balochistan police has arrested four suspects who allegedly facilitated the terrorist group involved in hijacking the Jaffar Express and taking over 400 passengers hostage in Pakistan's Bolan district on March 11, according to a media report. Terrorists belonging to the banned separatist outfit Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked the Jaffar Express carrying 440 passengers. Twenty-six hostages, including 18 security personnel, lost their lives in the attack. The Army eliminated all 33 terrorists the next day and rescued 354 hostages. Since then, multiple attacks have taken place across Balochistan. Sources in CTD, while confirming the arrests, said that a joint team comprising senior officials from various law enforcement agencies is investigating the attack on the Jaffar Express, reported the Dawn newspaper. These four suspects have been taken into custody for interrogation, the sources said, adding that efforts to identify the attackers

Religious minority victimisation soars in Pakistan in 2025: HRFP Report

Report highlighted communal unrest, including protests in Khaliq Nagar, Lahore, on March 20 over sewage flooding and the desecration of a Christian cemetery in Narowal in February for land-grabbing

Pak can build itself despite internal, external conspiracies, says Zardari

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said on Sunday that his country will continue to build itself despite internal and external conspiracies. Addressing the Pakistan Day military parade at Aiwan-e-Sadr (President's House), Zardari congratulated the nation and said that the objective of Pakistan was to set up a welfare state where the rule of law should be supreme. Pakistan was achieved after many sacrifices and we would not hesitate from any sacrifice to keep it safe, he said. He said that Pakistan, being a strong and determined nation, has the ability to face challenges and we will continue to build Pakistan despite internal and external conspiracies. He alleged that India had always tried to cast an evil eye on Pakistan while militants through the fitna-e-Khawarj (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) also posed a threat to the country. We want to tell them that the Pakistani nation and its armed forces stand shoulder to shoulder and would foil their nefarious designs, he said. He also s

Pakistani scholar Mufti Shah Mir shot dead by gunmen in Balochistan

Mufti Shah Mir, a prominent Pakistani scholar, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Balochistan province, according to a media report. Mir was targeted in the Turbat town of Kech on Friday when he was leaving a mosque after night prayers, the Dawn newspaper said. Armed men riding motorcycles opened fire on Mufti Shah Mir, leaving him seriously injured, the paper quoted police as saying. He was immediately shifted to Turbat hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The deceased received multiple bullet injuries that caused his death. Mufti Shah Mir was close to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F). He previously survived two attempts on his life. The attack came days after two leaders of JUI-F were shot dead in Khuzdar.

Imran Khan orders PTI members holding govt jobs to relinquish party posts

Earlier last month, the PTI founder had removed KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur as the party's provincial president and appointed Junaid Akbar as the new head

No FIR against Gaurav Gogoi, Assam cabinet to file case against Pakistani

Amid hullabaloo over Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's wife's alleged ISI links, the Assam cabinet on Sunday decided not to register any case against the parliamentarian or his British spouse but instructed the DGP to file an FIR against Pakistan national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government will write to the Centre to probe Gogoi's wife Elizabeth Colburn's participation in Lok Sabha campaigns in erstwhile Kaliabor constituency, which was won by the Congress MP twice, despite being a British citizen. "Multiple news reports, social media posts and other information in the public domain have surfaced regarding certain comments made by a Pakistan national, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, aimed at disrupting communal harmony in Assam," stated the cabinet resolution, read out to the media by Sarma. Sheikh's social media activity includes exhaustive commentary on India's internal affairs and parliamentary ..

IMF mission to inspect regulatory, judicial system in country: Pak govt

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scrutinising the judicial and regulatory system of Pakistan as part of the ongoing USD 7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to address governance and corruption vulnerabilities, the government has said. The Ministry of Finance said on Sunday that an IMF technical mission is in town for a week-long examination of six key governance-related sectors and institutions. Dawn News reported that Pakistan committed to strengthening institutional capacities with the IMF in October to fight corruption, support inclusive growth, and provide a level playing field for businesses and investments. As a result, the ministry said a structural benchmark had been set to publish a report on the Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) by July 2025, which will analyse critical governance and corruption vulnerabilities and identify priority structural reforms moving forward. Sources said the mission would also engage with leading members of the ...

Pakistan's economic growth stalls despite interest rate cuts: Report

Pakistan failed to kick-start economic growth in the first seven months of the current fiscal year despite a massive 10 per cent reduction in the interest rate by the central bank during this period, according to a media report. The State Bank of Bank in the latest cut on January 27 further reduced the interest rate by 1 per cent to set it at 12 per cent, a whopping 10 per cent down from 22 per cent in June last year. It was expected the decision would help to increase money supply and growth. The Dawn newspaper reported that despite a steep fall in the interest rate, the monetary expansion remained negative during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, noting that the frequent declines in interest rates resulted in a massive outflow of liquidity from banks to the private sector and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs). Still, it has failed to stimulate economic growth, it said. Bank advances to the private sector and NBFIs increased sharply in the second quarter of