Pakistani women married to ex-terrorists have urged the Indian government to let them stay in India. Zahida Begum and Nowreen, whose husbands were reportedly rehabilitated in Kashmir under a 2010 policy, said the region has been their home for more than a decade, according to Kashmir Despatch. They also confessed that they’d rather die than be sent back to Pakistan as has been demanded of them by the punitive measures taken after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
While Zahida Begum has lived in Kashmir in 15 years, Nowreen also lived through a similar experience long enough to find stability with her family in the region. Both couldn’t even bear to think of the idea of returning to Pakistan after the Indian government issued the ‘Leave India’ notice to Pakistani nationals in the country. Their husbands quit militancy under the then-Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s policy, according to a PTI report.
Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri terrorists urge government to let them stay in India
Begum reportedly holds a domicile certificate, Aadhar, election card and ration card documents. Pleading to stay in India, she said, “I want to live here with my children. They don’t want to go back either. Please forgive me. I have lived peacefully here, and now they want to take that away. This will ruin the lives of my children.” Zahida Begum revealed that she has two daughter and a 10-year-old son.
Meanwhile, Nowreen, who also has Aadhar and election card shared, “We came here to live a better life, not to face the same turmoil again… I don’t want to leave. This is my home. I have raised my children here, and now they want to take us away from everything we’ve built.”
Similarly, Alyza Rafiq, who resides in a north Kashmir district, said that she was asked to leave the country by the local police. “I have three children. They have told me to leave my youngest daughter here. She is little, how can I leave her here?” she questioned while emotionally appealing to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
“How can I leave my husband here. I have built a house here. We came here because of the government’s policy. What have we done? What is our fault in this? We have an election card and an Aadhar card. I have voted in elections,” she said tearfully. Sending a message to the governor, she pleaded, “Please do not be cruel to us. We have not committed any sin. Please let us live here. If not, then kill us and send our bodies across the border.”
Pakistani visas revoked, nationals of neighbouring nation ordered to leave
As part of the ‘Leave India’ notice, the deadline for 12 categories — visa on arrival, business, film, journalist, transit, conference, mountaineering, student, visitor, group tourist, pilgrim and group pilgrim — of short-term visa holders was set for Sunday, April 27.
Those with SAARC visas had been advised to exit India by April 26, whereas the deadline for Pakistani nationals with medical visas is April 29. A Hindu report suggested that around 537 Pakistani citizens had left India since April 24 through the Attari-Wagah border. These visa cancellations were prompted by the Pahalgam attack that killed at least 26 people and is believed to have connections with Pakistan-linked terrorists.
Defaulters who fail to leave India by the pre-set deadlines may face arrest, prosecution, fines or even imprisonment. According to the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025 that came into effect on April 4, any Pakistani, who doesn’t exit India as ordered by the government may face a jail term of up to three years or a fine of a maximum Rs 3 lakh or both.