After India decided to revoke visas of Pakistan citizens, several intriguing instances have come to the light. If there is one case of a man who lived in India for 17 years and voted in Indian elections, there is also the case of a Pakistani woman wedded to a CRPF jawan who resided in Jammu.
The CRPF is a paramilitary force stationed in Jammu and Kashmir to counter insurgency efforts, to thwart cross-border smuggling, and to uphold law and order. The online marriage of a CRPF jawan to a Pakistani woman and her extended visa stay has caught everyone’s attention.
Minal Khan from Pakistan met Munir online
Minal Khan from Punjab in Pakistan met Munir Khan online, and they gradually developed a bond. A PTI report states that an online Nikah took place in May 2024.
According to a report in Greater Kashmir, she arrived in India in March 2025 after a nine-year wait for her visa, though her temporary visa expired on March 22.
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It’s uncertain how Minal remained in India post-March 22, but she was issued a notice to leave the country following the Pahalgam terror attacks on April 22.
However, after the Pahalgam terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of 26 individuals, including tourists, Khan received a notice to exit India. The government issued an April 29 deadline for all Pakistanis with cancelled visas to go back to Pakistan.
Last-minute reprieve for Minal
She took the deportees’ bus, but her lawyer, Ankur Sharma, gave her a last-minute reprieve.
Minal Khan was en route to the Attari-Wagah border to enter Pakistan when her lawyer contacted her to announce they had obtained a court stay on her deportation to Pakistan, as reported by Greater Kashmir. The newspaper reported that her attorney was also a spokesperson for the BJP.
As reported, Minal Khan’s request for a visa extension, submitted prior to the Pahalgam attack, was under review by India’s home ministry.
Previously, Minal urged the government to permit families to remain united.
“We should be allowed to stay with the family,” PTI quoted her as saying. “We condemn the barbaric killings of innocents in the attack. The perpetrators should be punished severely.”
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Doubts raised over Minal’s marriage
The stay on Minal Khan’s deportation occurred while the Centre permitted Pakistani citizens to return to their homeland through the Wagah-Attari border until further notice. The most recent directive from the Home Ministry altered a prior order that had announced the border would close on April 30.
As news of Minal Khan’s case emerged, individuals raised concerns about how a CRPF jawan was permitted to marry a woman from Pakistan. Some claimed it was “marriage-trapping.”
Some highlighted that she remained here even after her temporary visa expired on March 22.
