Love & longing: Pahalgam attack disrupts cross-border family reunions, weddings

Jaipur: The Suthar family from Tharparkar, Pakistan, and settled in Jodhpur, is gripped with anxiety as they follow developments on Indian and Pakistani news channels via YouTube in the wake of the terror attack in Pahalgam. As tensions between India and Pakistan soar, families like the Suthars find their long-awaited reunions and weddings postponed, perhaps indefinitely.

For 55-year-old Prakash Suthar (name changed), who migrated to India with his wife and children in 2012, the heartbreak is personal. His ailing 82-year-old father, finally granted a visa to visit India after 3 years, was to arrive on April 26, but that visit had to be called off. "I imagined my father sitting in my Indian home, sharing stories and blessing my children. It's all over now," Prakash said, his voice breaking. After living as refugees for eight years, Prakash received Indian citizenship in 2020. His wife and two children were granted citizenship in 2022. Trained as an agriculture engineer in Pakistan, he now runs a handicraft shop at Jodhpur, since his degree is not recognised in India.

The emotional weight is heavier on his older son, Namit (name changed), 30, whose decade-old engagement now seems like a story suspended in time. Engaged to his childhood friend, Dr Reena (name changed), also from Tharparkar, Namit has been trying wed for 3 years. "We thought we would find a way, but now things look difficult," Namit said.

The Suthar community in Pakistan is close-knit, with around 15,000 to 18,000 people. "I haven't seen my fiancée in years. If she were living in the US or UK, we would be married by now," Namit added.

Now an Indian citizen, Namit restarted his visa application for Pakistan, but under the circumstances, is not hopeful. The couple are now considering Nepal as a possible neutral ground to formalise their long-delayed wedding.

Across the border, Reena waits, watching the same news on YouTube, clinging to hope. "My passport has been with the Indian High Commission for months. Every day I pray for that one message saying my visa is approved. Since Pahalgam, I've stopped counting days. I've left it to God," she told TOI over phone.