Attari-Wagah Border Crossing Point Completely Shut Amid Tensions, ‘No One Crossed Over’ On Thursday: Report

The Attari-Wagah border crossing point between India and Pakistan was shut completely on Thursday following a week-long rush of people from both sides after the Union government ordered all Pakistani citizens with short-term visas to leave India. According to news agency PTI, quoting sources, the Attari-Wagah border crossing point is completely closed now, and no one from either country crossed over to the other side.

On Wednesday, a total of 125 Pakistani nationals left India via the Attari-Wagah border, taking the total number of Pakistanis leaving the country to 911 in the last seven days.

Fifteen Indian citizens with Pakistani visas also crossed over to Pakistan on Wednesday, taking the total number of such people exiting India to 23. Similarly, 152 Indian nationals and 73 Pakistani nationals with long-term Indian visas have entered India through the international border crossing point in Punjab's Amritsar district, taking the total number of such people to 1,617 and 224, respectively.

The Centre government issued the Leave India notice to the Pakistani nationals after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with Pakistan links in Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. The deadline for exiting India for those holding the SAARC visas was April 26. For those carrying the medical visas, the deadline was April 29.

For the other 12 categories, the deadline was April 27. These were visas on arrival and visas for business, film, journalists, transit, conferences, mountaineering, students, visitors, group tourists, pilgrims, and group pilgrims. Three defence/military, naval and air advisors in the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were declared persona non grata on April 23 and were given one week to leave India. Five support staff of these defence attaches were also asked to leave India. India also withdrew its defence attache from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.

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