'Born To Serve India': Jammu-Kashmir Policeman As Court Intervention Stops His Deportation To Pak
Days after a 45-year-old policeman, Iftkhar Ali, and his eight siblings narrowly escaped deportation to Pakistan, he said that he was born to serve Jammu-Kashmir police and India. All hails from Mendhar sub-division near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, and for him, the uniform is more than a job – it’s a calling.
Ali has dedicated nearly half his life to the police force, serving its various wings with distinction and earning multiple commendations for his courage and unwavering commitment to duty.
According to news agency PTI, the nine members of the extended family were among over two dozen people mostly from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) who were served 'Leave India' notices by the authorities in Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu districts and were taken to Punjab for deportation to Pakistan on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, Ali and his eight siblings – Mohd Shafiq (60), Nashroon Akhter (56), Akseer Akhter (54), Mohd Shakoor (52), Naseem Akhter (50), Zulfqar Ali (49), Koser Parveen (47) and Shazia Tabasum (42) – were brought back to their village in Poonch after the High Court of J&K and Ladakh admitted their petition claiming that they were not Pakistani nationals and had been living in Salwah village for generations and stayed their deportation.
The central government, days after the attack in Pahalgam, announced a slew of measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, downgrading diplomatic relations with Islamabad, and ordering all Pakistanis on short-term visas to leave India by April 27 or face action.
“We have a centuries-old history of being the bona fide residents of Salwah with both our parents and other ancestors were buried in the village…the notice (on April 26 by Deputy Commissioner, Poonch) came as a shocker to our family comprising more than 200 members, including some serving in the Army,” Ali told PTI.
According to the report, Ali lives with his wife and three children, all aged between six and 11 years. In the midst of the situation, he said they decided to approach the high court and are grateful to the judiciary for giving them respite. “(The) petitioners are not asked or forced to leave UT of Jammu & Kashmir. This direction is, however, subject to objections from the other side,” Justice Rahul Bharti said in an order on Tuesday after hearing the plea of Ali, who is currently posted at Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
News agency PTI reports that the court directed the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, to come forward with furnishing of an affidavit with respect to the status of property holding, if any, by the petitioners and set May 20 as the next date of hearing of the case. “We have a land holding of nearly five hectares with another two hectares illegally usurped by my maternal uncle with whom we are having a long dispute. The deportation notice is the outcome of that very dispute because they do not want to return our land,” Ali claimed.
Ali said, reiterating his pledge to protect this land with every breath he takes. He also thanked his lawyers and also the sociopolitical activist Safeer Choudhary, who extended his support to the family.
india