Pahalgam attack: Supreme Court stays deportation of PoK-born man, his family with Indian passports

The top court stayed the move to deport the Accenture employee from Bengaluru and his family following the Pahalgam terror attack.

It directed the petitioners to present their case before the appropriate authorities.

Petitioner Ahmed Tariq Butt, a Bengaluru-based man born in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), said that his family was being forcibly taken to the Attari Wagah border despite being Indian citizens.

He told the court they were detained at the border, even though they possessed valid Indian documents, including passports issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The apex court directed authorities to verify the family's documents and ordered that no coercive action should be taken against Butt, who has an MBA from the IIM in Kerala's Kozhikode, till then.

Butt was also asked to approach the high court for further relief. The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, contested the move, but the Supreme Court acknowledged "some human element" in this matter.

The Supreme Court, however, clarified that its orders in this case could not be used as precedent in others, a significant statement given the number of reports about Indian nationals, many with Muslim names, being asked to leave the country after visas were cancelled.

The Attari-Wagah border crossing between India and Pakistan shut completely on Thursday amid a face-off between the two nations over the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which left 26 civilians dead.

The crossing was closed from both sides after India said it was planned and executed by the deep state in Pakistan.

Both governments closed border crossings and revoked visas in the first round of diplomatic restrictions following the deadly attack.

Over the past days, Indian authorities have rounded up hundreds of Pakistani nationals in the country on tourist, medical, or other visas, to eject them.

On Wednesday, 24 hours before the border was sealed, 125 Pakistani nationals crossed over, taking the total since Thursday last to over 1,000, including diplomats and support staff.

However, on Thursday afternoon, shortly after the Attari-Wagah border was sealed, a small number of Pakistani nationals, who were sent to the crossing by Indian immigration, could not return home.

It seemed that Pakistani authorities refused to open the gate for their citizens.