Mysuru woman married to Pakistani in a fix after husband refuses to receive children at border

MYSURU: After the Union government revoked all visas for visitors from Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, a woman from Mysuru, who is married to Pakistani national, now finds herself in a dire situation. After trying hard for three days to send her three children across the border at Attari, she has returned to Mysuru with them.

Ramsha, a resident of Udayagiri in Mysuru got married to Mohammed Farooq of Pakistan 10 years ago. The couple have three children aged 2.5, 4 and 8, all Pakistani citizens. All the three children have visitor visas valid up to July while Ramsha says her Indian passport has expired and she has sought renewal under the Tatkal scheme.

Ramsa with her children and relatives at the Attari border.

After the Union government revoked all visas, Ramsha took her three children to Attari so that she could send them across the border, but her husband Farooq insisted that she too should return with the children. With no one from her husband’s family coming to pick up the children, the security personnel refused to allow the minor children across the border unless the family members came to pick them up, she said.

Now, Farooq, who works as a director at the Pakistan Assembly, is not even receiving Ramsha’s calls. A video of Ramsha pleading with the authorities and narrating her tale had gone viral on social media a few days ago. The family has now approached the high court for extension of the children’s visas.

Rizwan, a resident of Mysuru who is to get married to Ramsha’s younger sister on May 11, said he had waited for one-and-half years for the wedding so that Ramsha and her family could attend. “I had accompanied them to Attari border and we spent three days, but Ramsha’s husband did not turn up to receive the children. The officials were ready to send them across the border if her relatives had come to pick up the children”.

Ramsa had come to Mysuru for Rizwan’s marriage scheduled for May 11.

“Ramsha is an Indian passport holder and she has applied for renewal. We have approached the high court for extension of the children’s visa, but we are not sure if they can stay for the wedding. For four days, we travelled to Attari, Amritsar, Delhi and returned. We haven’t even been able to distribute my wedding invitation cards”, Rizwan said.

He explained that after Partition, the families had maintained ties and Ramsha’s marriage was arranged through family members on both sides of the border. “What happens to the children is more important now. Indian citizens returning from Pakistan are not facing any problem, but Pakistani citizens leaving India through the border are not being received”, he pointed out.