The Attari-Wagah border witnessed emotional and chaotic scenes on Thursday (May 1) as around 40 presumed Pakistani nationals, many brought from Jammu and Kashmir without valid documentation, were left stranded on the Indian side following the abrupt suspension of cross-border movement.

No Indian or Pakistani citizens were allowed to cross the border that day, despite an earlier notification from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) allowing Pakistani nationals to continue departing the country until further orders.

Among those stuck at the border were 16 Pakistani Hindus returning from a pilgrimage to Haridwar, two women from Rajouri residing in India since 1983, and a woman from Karachi, who now faces separation from her child—an Indian passport holder.

A video clip shared by the IANS news agency captured the distress of two Pakistani women at the border, one of them holding a young child.

As the women pleaded with a Border Security Force (BSF) official to let them return to Pakistan, he was heard replying, “You should have come when the government told you. I can’t help you.”

The border gates in the background, usually teeming with travelers and ceremonial activity, stood deserted.

The closure of the Attari-Wagah border and the suspension of visa services followed a deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Anantnag district, on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, mostly tourists. In the wake of the attack, the Indian government ordered Pakistani nationals on tourist, medical, or short-term visas to leave the country, while those on long-term permits were allowed to remain.

Tragedy struck the deportation process on Wednesday when Abdul Waheed Bhat, a presumed Pakistani national living in Kashmir since the 1980s, died inside a bus outside the integrated check post at the border.

Bhat had been among a group of 60 to 70 people transported from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab for deportation. He had received a “notice to leave India” from the Foreigners’ Registration Office in Srinagar on April 25. His nationality remains unconfirmed, and it is unclear where he will be buried.

Reports also indicate that some of those ferried to the border lacked passports or the required clearance from the Pakistani embassy in Delhi, raising questions about procedural oversight.

“We cannot deport people who lack either. It is still unclear whether Bhat had a Pakistani passport,” a source told The Indian Express.

The deportations have sparked anguish in Jammu and Kashmir. A particularly heart-wrenching case involved a newlywed couple separated at the border.

Aamir Ahmad, whose wife Hajra Mir hails from Rawalpindi, expressed despair: “My happiness has turned into mourning. My mother is crying relentlessly. Just yesterday my wife walked into her new home and now she is being sent back. What is our fault in this?”

While over 700 Pakistani nationals have reportedly crossed back since the deportations began last Thursday, Thursday’s indefinite closure left many in limbo.

In a rare reprieve, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday stayed the deportation of Poonch resident and police constable Iftkhan Ali and his eight siblings, observing that a “prima facie” case existed to suggest they were not Pakistani citizens.

As uncertainty looms, the fate of those stranded at the border remains unresolved, highlighting the human cost of geopolitical retaliation.