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Indian Express
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
15 members of Pakistani Hindu family moved from Haryana village to Delhi camp; not linked to Pahalgam attack, officials say
Fifteen members of a family from Pakistan that had been living in a village in Haryana's Hisar district were sent to a camp in New Delhi on Thursday, a day after India cancelled all visas granted to Pakistani nationals. Officials in Haryana, however, clarified that the action is not related to the actions taken in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. The Hindu family, including women and children, had been living in Balsamand village for the last eight months where they were reportedly engaged in agricultural activities. Sobho, 72, the seniormost member of the family, hails from Hyderabad in Pakistan's Sindh province. His son-in-law Dayal Dass has been living in Delhi since 2011, sources said. 'We arrived in India on a 40-day visa which expired. We came here after incurring an expenditure of Rs 3-4 lakh. We had been trying to come to India for the past 10 years. Now, we work in agricultural fields and at construction sites,' Sobho said earlier. 'We want to stay here. This is our motherland. However, I was born in Pakistan. We believe in Sanatan Dharma and hold deep respect for God and Guru Nanak.' The family is headed by a 72-year-old Pakistan national Sobho who is from Hyderabad of Pakistan's Sindh province. Photo (special arrangement) Shashank Kumar Sawan, Superintendent of Police (SP), Hisar, told The Indian Express Friday that the family was escorted to a camp for illegal immigrants in New Delhi as their visas had expired long ago. 'This action has nothing to do with the recent Pahalgam incident. They had come to Haryana from Delhi. We asked the family to return to their registered address in Delhi,' said the officer. Shamsher Singh, a farmer based in Balsamand, had invited Sobho and his family to his village to do agricultural work in his fields. Singh said he came to know about the family when he went to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in 2023 to help Hindu families who faced demolition of their homes. 'In Jaisalmer, I met Delhi resident Hari Om, who worked for an organisation and had come to help the Hindu families. Through him, I came to know about Dayal Dass who, in turn, urged me to help his father-in-law, Sobho, who was facing difficulties. When I was told that they were unemployed in Pakistan, I offered them work in my field. Some other family members of Sobho are living in Delhi,' said Singh. After applying for a visa, Sobho and his family members reportedly arrived in Delhi in 2024, before reaching Balsamand village. Their visas expired on August 25, 2024. Singh said, 'We were already in touch with the authorities to send the family members to their registered address in New Delhi. Their move to Delhi has nothing to do with the Pahalgam terror attack.' In the wake of Tuesday's attack in Pahalgam, India took swift action against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading diplomatic relations with Pakistan, expelling diplomats from the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, and closing the Attari-Wagah border. Visas extended to Pakistani nationals under a SAARC scheme were also cancelled, and they were directed to leave the country in 48 hours.
Hindustan Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pahalgam terror attack fallout: Pakistani Hindu family taken from Hisar to Delhi camp
A day after the Centre gave Pakistani nationals 48 hours to leave the country after the Pahalgam terror attack, 15 members of a Hindu family from the neighbouring country who were staying at Balsamand village in Hisar district of Haryana for the past eight months were taken to a Pakistani camp in New Delhi on Thursday. Balsamand police post in-charge Shesh Karan said over phone on Friday that Haryana Police personnel had taken the Pakistani Hindu family to Delhi for security reasons. Though the Union government cancelled visas of all Pakistani citizens on Wednesday, the ministry of external affairs on Thursday clarified that the revocation did not apply to long-term visas issued to Hindu Pakistani nationals. 'With reference to the Government of India's decision to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals, it is clarified that the revocation of visas does not apply to long-term visas (LTVs) issued to Hindu Pakistani nationals. These LTVs remain valid,' the ministry said in a release. The family of 72-year-old Sobho, who goes by one name, had been staying at Balsamand for the past eight months. 'Their visa expired on August 25 last year. Their plea to stay on was accepted by the government, following which their visa had been extended,' said a senior police officer from Hisar, requesting anonymity. The Pakistani family was living in a room of a private hospital in the village and most members worked as farm labourers to make ends meet. 'The police escorted them from Balsamand to Delhi. Reports that the family's visa had expired are false,' sub-inspector Shesh Karan said. He refused to share the duration of the validity of their visa. According to officials, Balsamand resident Shamsher Singh had helped the Pakistani Hindu family shift to Balsamand from Jaisalmer last August. 'Shamsher and his Delhi-based friend Hari Om had been helping Pakistani Hindu families when their houses were demolished by the administration in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district in 2023. It's there that they came in contact with Pakistani citizen Dayal Dass and he urged them to help Sobho and his family, who were facing harassment in Pakistan. Sobho along with 14 other members of his family applied for a visa in 2024 and came to India. Shamsher and Hari Om settled them in Balsamand,' the senior police officer said.
