Heartbreak at the border: India-Pakistan tensions tear mother apart from her family

A military personnel with the Border Security Force (BSF) checks the passport of Pakistani citizens Muhammad Ayan and his relatives, as they prepare to leave India after India revoked visas issued to Pakistani citizens, at the Attari-Wagah border crossing near Amritsar, India on April 27, 2025. India has suspended visa services to Pakistani nationals 鈥渨ith immediate effect鈥� following an attack on tourists near Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir. (REUTERS)
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  • Muhammad Imran visited New Delhi last month with his wife, an Indian national, for his son鈥檚 treatment for spinal injury
  • Imran was forced to leave India with children but without wife after India, Pakistan suspended visas for each other鈥檚 nationals

KARACHI: When Muhammad Imran arrived in neighboring India last month, he thought the journey would culminate in his son recovering from an unfortunate spinal injury. Little did he know that he would be forced to head back to Pakistan. That too, without his wife.
Imran, 43, traveled to India with his wife Nabeela Imran, an Indian national, and children in March clinging to the hope that doctors at New Delhi鈥檚 Apollo Hospital would help his 17-year-old son Muhammad Ayan walk again. Ayan was left paralyzed in 2023 after he suffered a gunshot wound in his spine after getting in the crosshairs of a gunfight between police and street criminals in Karachi.
However, ties between India and Pakistan deteriorated after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for being involved in a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on Apr. 22 that killed 26 people. Islamabad denies involvement.
Both nations downgraded ties, with India suspending visas for almost all Pakistani nationals and Islamabad responding with tit-for-tat measures. The move triggered panic among visiting families 鈥� including Imran鈥檚, who had married his maternal cousin Nabeela, a resident of New Delhi, 18 years ago.
Since then, Nabeela had been living in Pakistan on a visa that was intermittently renewed without her ever needing to acquire Pakistan鈥檚 nationality. But the suspension of visas meant Imran and his Pakistani children鈥檚 45-day medical visa was no longer valid, and Nabeela was left behind in India.
鈥淪he was separated from us while crying and we also came here with great difficulty, crying,鈥� an emotional Ayan told Arab News.
Imran said he arrived in India after spending 鈥渆very single rupee鈥� with the hope that his son would walk again. However, bilateral tensions between India and Pakistan, and the ensuing atmosphere in India made his family 鈥渧ery scared.鈥�




Pakistani citizen Muhammad Ayan cries, as his mother, who is an Indian citizen couldn鈥檛 accompany him and his father, as they prepare to leave India after India revoked visas issued to Pakistani citizens, at the Attari-Wagah border crossing near Amritsar, India on April 27, 2025. (REUTERS)

鈥淚 told them, 鈥業 am married [to her],鈥� I pleaded with them, cried, and showed a lot of humility,鈥� Imran said about his interaction with Indian authorities. 鈥淏ut they said, 鈥楴o, write an exit and leave.鈥欌€�
鈥楶EOPLE SHOULDN鈥橳 BE DIVIDED BY BORDERS鈥�
For Ayan, the shock of being separated from his mother compounded the trauma of his paralysis and incomplete treatment.
鈥淚 went for treatment with a hope but that hope shattered because of that accident and then the fact that my mother was not coming with us,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 was completely separated from a mother鈥檚 love. We were far apart; it made me cry.鈥�
The ordeal is also tough for Imran, who is the sole caregiver to Ayan now that Nabeela is in India.
鈥淪hould I go to work or take care of my child,鈥� Imran asked. 鈥淏ecause his mother used to handle everything 鈥� feeding him, taking care of him, and everything else.
鈥淣ow that she鈥檚 not here, I am facing a lot of distress,鈥� he added.
Back in India, Nabeela is consumed by the same worry for her son.
鈥淥ver there, my child is paralyzed and in distress, and I am the one who takes care of everything for him,鈥� she told Arab News via a video call.
鈥淣ow, his father will be going to work鈥� who will take care of him? Who will look after him?鈥�
Nabeela appealed to governments in India and Pakistan to reunite her with her children.
鈥淚 am in a lot of distress; I cannot live without my children,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y child is helpless, what should I do?鈥�
Robbed of his mother鈥檚 affection, Ayan had the same plea.
鈥淚 appeal to both the Pakistani and Indian governments to reunite me with my mother as soon as possible,鈥� he said.
 鈥淎nd I also appeal to the Pakistani government to help me with my treatment,鈥� he added. 鈥淧lease reunite me with my mother.鈥�
Imran recalled how he saw with his own eyes when many families were separated from their loved ones and sent to the border.
鈥淏orders may exist but people shouldn鈥檛 be divided by them,鈥� he said.