Srinagar, June 24, KNT: In a significant development, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the central government to bring back a woman who was recently deported to Pakistan amid a mass crackdown following the Pahalgam massacre.
The woman, Rakshanda Rashid, had been living in Kashmir for several years with her husband but was expelled from India on grounds of being undocumented. The deportation took place during the ongoing “Operation Sindoor”—a large-scale government drive targeting Pakistan-linked individuals in the Valley in the aftermath of the Pahalgam killings.
Justice Rahul Bharti, while hearing a writ petition (WP(C) No. 1072/2025) filed by Rashid’s husband, Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, took strong exception to the way the woman’s case was handled. The Court ordered the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure Rashid’s return to Jammu within ten days and to facilitate her reunion with her family.
Highlighting the humanitarian aspect of the matter, Justice Bharti stated: “Human rights are the most sacrosanct component of a human life,” and emphasized that constitutional courts are often compelled to act swiftly and humanely, even before the full legal facts are established, especially in urgent and distressing situations.
According to case records, Rashid was reportedly holding a Long-Term Visa (LTV), which, under Indian immigration rules, can allow Pakistani nationals to stay in the country under certain conditions. Despite this, she was removed from Indian territory in what her husband described as a blanket repatriation campaign that did not consider individual circumstances or health conditions.
“She was left alone in Pakistan, a country where she has no relatives, no legal protection, and no support,” Zahoor told the court, adding that his wife is seriously ill and struggling to survive.
The Court took a stern view of the deportation, noting that Rashid’s visa status was not properly examined before she was expelled. “Without examining her case in better perspective and coming up with a proper order… she came to be forced out,” the Court observed in its order dated June 6.
Calling it an “exceptional case demanding urgent redressal,” the Court ordered the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to act immediately and file a compliance report by July 1.
Advocate Ms Himani Khajuria appeared on behalf of the petitioner, while Deputy Solicitor General Vishal Sharma represented the central government and other respondents.
The order is being seen as the first legal challenge to the sweeping deportation campaign that has drawn criticism for indiscriminately targeting women who had come to Kashmir under the former cross-border rehabilitation policy. Many of these women, brought from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as brides of former militants, have spent over a decade in Jammu and Kashmir without ever being granted legal citizenship or mobility rights—and are now facing forcible deportation.
The case of Rakshanda Rashid, say observers, may serve as a legal precedent for others in similar situations caught between fractured policies and bureaucratic indifference.
