The Union ministry of home affairs has informed the high court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh that it will grant visitor visa to a deported Pakistani woman, Rakshanda Rashid, 62, who had settled down in Jammu after marrying a local resident 38 years ago. She was deported as part of the punitive measures taken by India against Pakistan in the aftermath of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Her husband is Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, chairman of the Muslim Front, Jammu.
The Union ministry of home affairs has informed the high court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh that it will grant visitor visa to a deported Pakistani woman, Rakshanda Rashid, 62, who had settled down in Jammu after marrying a local resident 38 years ago. (Representational image)
Sharing details, advocate Ankur Sharma said, “The UT government and Government of India had challenged a previous single-judge order wherein it was directed to bring back Rakshanda from Pakistan within 10 days following her deportation. The authorities have now agreed to issue a visitor visa to her.”
Rakshanda had applied for the renewal of her long-term visa (LTV), which had expired in January. While the authorities were processing her case, the Pahalgam attack unfolded and she was told to leave for Pakistan after the Centre’s decision to deport all Pakistani nationals.
A division bench, comprising chief justice Arun Palli and justice Rajnesh Oswal, on Wednesday gave its assent to the authorities concerned for allowing the visitor’s visa to the elderly woman.
The court, however, said that the arrangement “shall not constitute a precedent in any manner”.
Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, who represented the home ministry, told the division bench that “after much deliberation and considering the peculiarity of facts… an in-principle decision was taken to grant a visitor visa to the respondent.”
He assured the court that the authorities would “process and accord a visitor visa to her at the earliest”.
The division bench observed that thereafter, the woman may pursue her two applications pending with the authorities on acquiring Indian citizenship and the long-term visa.
Rakshanda was deported to Pakistan on April 29 and on June 6, the single-judge bench ordered her return to India. She had entered India on February 10, 1990, via a train through Attari on a visitor visa for 14 days to visit Jammu. She continued to stay on owing to the LTV granted by the authorities annually. During her stay, she married the Indian national in Jammu.