At Delhi camps, Hindus from Pakistan unsure about their status amid visa directive

The Union government on Thursday announced suspension of all kinds of visas for Pakistani nationals, giving them 48 hours to leave the country. L

Satram Kumar along with his family of nine came to Delhi about 20 days ago from Hyderabad in Sindh province of Pakistan. The family had been trying to come to India for the last three years, but it could only materialise after they received a 45-day visitor visa last month. While the family came in with an intent to settle in India, they stare at an uncertain future.

Many of the families have not received citizenship or possess any identity proofs. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

In the aftermath of a major terrorist attack in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on April 22 that claimed 26 lives, the Union government on Thursday announced suspension of all kinds of visas for Pakistani nationals, giving them 48 hours to leave the country. Later, the external affairs ministry clarified that the long-term visas already issued to Hindu Pakistani nationals would remain valid. However, many Pakistani Hindus like Satram Kumar who have moved to Majnu ka Tila and the Signature Bridge areas in Delhi remain uncertain about their status and procedures to remain in India.

“Our neighbours and relatives have been coming and settling here for years. We felt unsafe in Pakistan and saved money to be able to afford visas and come here with our families. Now, we don’t know if we can stay or we will be asked to leave the country. My wife, daughters-in-law and kids have come and are scared,” Kumar said.

Living in a makeshift camp on unauthorised forest property near Signature Bridge in east Delhi, the family currently has a carpet atop bamboo pillars for a home. Kumar says his family is happy and safe here, even if they have not yet figured out how they will earn a living, feed the family, and more pertinently prove their identity in this new country.

Many such families that moved to Delhi from the neighbouring country in the past few months have not yet received citizenship or any identity proof. According to estimates, there are around 900 people living near Majnu Ka Tila and 600-700 near Signature Bridge, but only around 300 have received their citizenship certificates so far.

“People have been moving here for the past 15 years. Every other month, a family moves in. There are some families we know who just got their visa approved, but will not be able to travel now because of the new restrictions,” said Dayal Das, a Pakistani Hindu, who named his granddaughter “Nagarikta” after the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was announced in 2019.

The local police have reassured them that the families living in these camps are safe and have asked for details of the number of people and families living in these camps to be submitted by Saturday, Das added.

Meanwhile, another family of 15 that came to India from Pakistan about nine months ago and shifted to Balsamand village at Hisar in Haryana were moved back overnight to the Majnu Ka Tila camp after they were found to be living without valid visas. Balsamand police post in-charge Shesh Karan confirmed that Haryana police had taken the Pakistani Hindu family to Delhi for security reasons.

Sobho, a Pakistani Hindu, along with 14 other members of his family came to India in July 2024. Their visa was renewed once since and their expired passports were also reissued by the Pakistani consulate in January this year.

“We had taken a land on rent and were growing vegetables, pulses (chana) and some fruits. People already take time to trust us as we came from Pakistan. Now that we had just started getting settled, we had to leave everything in Hisar and come here. We are not sure how long we will stay here and what we will do,” Kunwar, the eldest son of Sobho, said. The family members only use their first name.

In a similar dilemma are families that have some members who moved years ago, but others who have recently shifted. “My family, including my sons have citizenship now as we shifted here in 2011. However, two of my daughters-in-law just moved about two years ago and do not have any documents yet,” Sona Das said.

To be sure, citizenship under the CAA has December 31, 2014 as the cut-off date for arrival in India.

Though these families said they feel secure in the Delhi camps, they remain worried about their immediate future, especially in the wake of the recent gruesome terrorist attack in Pahalgam.