Mother of Shaurya Chakra awardee among Pakistani nationals being deported from Kashmir

Hindustan Times

29-04-2025

Authorities have begun deporting Pakistani nationals from Jammu and Kashmir, including the mother of a Shaurya Chakra awardee who was killed in a terror strike, following the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. A total of 60 Pakistani nationals are being sent back as part of the Centre's broader response to the attack.
According to officials quoted by PTI, those being deported were gathered from various districts and transported by bus to Punjab, where they will be handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border.
The 60 individuals being deported include the wives and children of former militants who had returned to Jammu and Kashmir under the 2010 rehabilitation policy for ex-ultras.
Officials said that 36 were residing in Srinagar, nine each in Baramulla and Kupwara, four in Budgam, and two in the Shopian district.
Among the deportees is Shameema Akhtar, the mother of Constable Mudasir Ahmad Shaikh, who was killed in May 2022 while confronting terrorists as part of a covert Jammu and Kashmir Police team. Mudasir was posthumously honoured with the Shaurya Chakra, which Shameema, alongside her husband, received from President Droupadi Murmu in May 2023 in Delhi.
Mudasir's uncle Mohammad Younus told reporters, "My sister-in-law is from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which is our territory. Only Pakistanis should have been deported." He also mentioned the family's connection with top government officials: "After Mudasir's death, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the family, and so did the Lieutenant Governor, twice," he said.
Speaking of his sister-in-law, he added, "My bhabhi was 20 years old when she came here and has been living here for 45 years now. My appeal to (PM Narendra) Modi and Amit Shah is that they should not do it."
Shameema had married Mohammad Maqsood, a retired police officer, before the onset of militancy in the region in 1990. In honour of Mudasir's sacrifice, the main square in Baramulla has been renamed Shaheed Mudasir Chowk.
In the wake of the Pahalgam attack, the Centre initiated several measures — suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading diplomatic ties with Islamabad, and ordering all Pakistani nationals on short-term visas to leave India by April 27. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) further decided that all Pakistanis, except those holding long-term, diplomatic, or official visas, must exit India by April 29.
Union home minister Amit Shah personally contacted state chief ministers on April 25 to ensure compliance with the directive. The Union home secretary also followed up with state officials via video conference to enforce the deadline for those with revoked visas.
India has linked the Pahalgam attack to cross-border elements and pledged strict action against those responsible.
(With PTI Inputs)