A policeman, left, checks a vehicle as paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a temporary checkpoint in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A policeman, center, checks a vehicle as paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a temporary checkpoint in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a temporary checkpoint in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard at a temporary checkpoint in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
A policeman, checks an auto rickshaw as paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a temporary checkpoint in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Indian policeman left, questions a driver of vehicle before checking his vehicle at a temporary checkpoint in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Pakistani nationals leave India as tensions between the two nations escalate over Kashmir attack
ATTARI, India (AP) 鈥 Dozens of Pakistani nationals living in India headed to the main land crossing between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, following New Delhi鈥檚 decision to order almost all Pakistani citizens to leave the country after last week鈥檚 deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
A policeman, left, checks a vehicle as paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a temporary checkpoint in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
By Prabhjot Gill And Sheikh Saaliq The Associated Press
ATTARI, India (AP) 鈥 Dozens of Pakistani nationals living in India headed to the main land crossing between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, following New Delhi鈥檚 decision to order almost all Pakistani citizens to leave the country after last week鈥檚 deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The deadline for Pakistani citizens to leave the country 鈥 with exceptions for those who are on medical visas in India 鈥 passed on Sunday, but many families were still scrambling to the Indian side of the border in Attari town in northern Punjab state to cross into Pakistan.
Some were arriving on their own and others were being deported by police.
鈥淲e have settled our families here. We request the government not to uproot our families,鈥 said Sara Khan, a Pakistani national who was ordered back to Pakistan without her husband, Aurangzeb Khan, who holds an Indian passport.
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Waiting on the Indian side of the border crossing, Khan carried her 14-day-old child in her arms. She said Indian authorities did not give her any time to recuperate from a caesarean section and that her long-term visa was valid until July 2026.
鈥淭hey (authorities) told me you are illegal and you should go,鈥 said Khan, who has been living in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 2017. 鈥淭hey gave us no time. I could not even change my shoes.鈥
India and Pakistan have escalated after near the resort town of Pahalgam in disputed Kashmir.
At least three tourists who survived the massacre told The Associated Press that the gunmen singled out Hindu men and shot them from close range. The dead included a Nepalese citizen and a local Muslim pony ride operator.
India has described the massacre as a 鈥渢error attack鈥 and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan has denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
The massacre set off diplomatic measures between India and Pakistan that included cancellation of visas and a recall of diplomats. New Delhi also suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad and ordered its border shut with Pakistan. In response, Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.
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As tensions escalate, have also increased along the Line of Control, the de facto frontier that separates Kashmiri territory between the two rivals.
Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Indian-controlled Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
Meanwhile, India鈥檚 cabinet committee on security, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met on Wednesday. It was their second such meeting since the attack.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in separate phone calls with India and Pakistan, stressed the need to 鈥渁void a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences.鈥 The U.S. State Department also called for de-escalation and said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be speaking soon to the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers.
The two nations have frequently come to blows over Kashmir in the past, but last week鈥檚 massacre has escalated tensions and Modi has repeatedly vowed to pursue and punish the attackers.
Early Wednesday, Pakistan said it had 鈥渃redible intelligence鈥 that India intends to carry out military action against it in the 鈥渘ext 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident.鈥
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There was no immediate comment from Indian officials.
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Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
