Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, May 7: In a case that highlights the human fallout of tense cross-border relations, three minor Pakistani nationals, born to an Indian mother, have approached the Karnataka High Court seeking permission to stay in India after being left stranded when Pakistan closed its border to its own citizens.
The plea was filed by Ramsha Jahan, the Indian mother of the children — 8-year-old Bibi Yamina, 4-year-old Muhammad Mudasir, and 3-year-old Muhammad Yusuf — all born to a Pakistani father.
Jahan has requested the High Court to direct the Mysuru City Police Commissioner and the Foreigners’ Registration Officer to either extend their visas or grant them long-term stay permits.
The matter came up before the vacation bench of Justice M G Uma, who issued notices to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of Karnataka, and the Mysuru Police Commissioner, and posted the case for further hearing on May 8.
According to the petition, the children arrived in India with their mother on January 4, 2025, on visas valid until June 18, 2025, to attend a relative’s wedding in Mysuru. However, the situation took a drastic turn following the Pahalgam terror attack, after which the Indian government cancelled all visas issued to Pakistani nationals and ordered them to return by April 30.
Following the directive, Jahan and her children travelled to the Attari border on April 28, intending to return to Pakistan. However, the father did not turn up to receive them. Making matters worse, Pakistan had sealed its borders for its own citizens, leaving the family stranded at the border. Indian immigration officials had no choice but to send them back to Mysuru.
The mother’s legal counsel pointed out that the children have no one in Pakistan to take care of them, as their father is a government employee and unable to personally attend to them. Jahan, an Indian citizen who never applied for Pakistani citizenship despite marrying a Pakistani national in 2015, remains the children’s only caregiver.
The petition argued that the central government's order applies solely to Pakistani nationals, and the children—caught in a bureaucratic limbo—are victims of circumstances beyond their control. Jahan submitted a request to the Mysuru Police Commissioner seeking a visa extension or long-term visa on humanitarian grounds. However, the authorities have not responded, the petition noted.
More worryingly, the mother alleged that officials have been pressuring her to leave the country immediately, threatening coercive action if she fails to comply. This has left the minors and their mother in a state of panic, prompting them to knock on the doors of the judiciary.
The plea also requests the High Court to issue an interim order restraining any deportation or coercive action against the family until May 15, 2025, citing their intent to return to Pakistan after participating in a family wedding scheduled on May 12.
"We are not violating any law. We only ask for two more weeks so the children can attend their relative’s wedding in dignity and safety," said the advocate representing Jahan.
The case has drawn attention to the complex intersection of cross-border regulations, national security, and the rights of children in mixed-nationality families, especially in high-tension periods. The outcome could set a significant precedent for similar cases caught between two nations' shifting policies.