MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): In a harsh move following the Pahalgam incident, Indian authorities have intensified their crackdown in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), triggering widespread concern over the recent wave of deportation in IIOJK. Dozens of individuals, many of them women and elderly, have been forced out of their homes and sent to Pakistan through the Wagah border.
The people who call themselves citizens of India are also not being shown any compassion, they are being dragged away from their families, put behind meshes of police vans and forced to depart. No one is willing to pay any heed to their cries even if the people show their Aadhaar Cards, begging “their own” people to believe them.
Among those deported is Parveen, an elderly woman from Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, whose three children are married and settled. She was taken from her home in Uri and expelled by Indian forces without explanation. Her daughter-in-law, a mother of two, was also deported.
Speaking to Indian media, Parveen asked, “What is my crime? Why am I being separated from my children and husband?” She pointed out that her ancestors’ property lies in Kashmir, questioning the justification for her expulsion.
Parveen’s husband, Ghulam Rasool, expressed frustration over the hypocrisy of Indian authorities. “India claims Kashmir as its own, yet is expelling Kashmiris from their homeland,” he said. “We were forcibly removed and harassed, despite being innocent.”
Another deportee, Ghazala, also from Muzaffarabad, was forced to leave, even though her husband works in Saudi Arabia and her family roots are in Kashmir. “Who am I being sent back to?” she asked in tears.
The deportation in IIOJK also included Riyaz Khan, a Kupwara resident whose father served in the Indian Army. Despite holding an Aadhaar card and having contested elections in Kupwara, Riyaz was deported, leaving behind his wife and three children. He had crossed into Pakistan as a child and returned via Wagah in 2007. Now, 18 years later, he has been expelled once again.
Indian police buses transported several such individuals from districts like Handwara, Kupwara, Baramulla and Budgam to the Attari-Wagah joint check post. The deportation in IIOJK comes under a central directive ordering all “Pakistani citizens” to leave India by May 1.
Outside the border gates, Sarah Khan from Rajouri pleaded for justice while holding her newborn. She had undergone a caesarean operation just two weeks prior, yet was still forcibly transported. Despite holding a valid visa until July 2026, she was expelled. Her husband Aurangzeb Khan said they married in 2017 and Sarah had grown up in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir.
Radha, an elderly woman from Kathua, claimed Indian citizenship but was still sent to Pakistan. She has no ties across the border and her entire family lives in Jammu, yet she has to face deportation in IIOJK.
This growing trend of deportation in IIOJK has sparked concern, especially over its impact on families, women, and the elderly, many of whom have spent decades in the region they are now being forced to leave.
