A Pakistani woman who was forced to return from India following the dastardly Pahalgam attack has appealed for her return in the Delhi High Court. The petitioner, Rukaiya Obaid, married Delhi-based Ubada Abdul Barkat Farooqui in November 2024 in Pakistan. After their marriage, she arrived in India in April 2025 and applied for a long-term visa on April 18.
However, following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, the Indian government suspended visa services for Pakistani citizens and revoked existing visas.
According to the petition, Rukaiya approached the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Delhi to seek permission to stay in the country but was instead issued an exit permit, forcing her to leave India on April 28.
Delhi HC Seeks Centre’s Reply
The Delhi High Court on Monday sought a response from the Centre on a petition filed by the woman seeking a visa to live in India with her Indian husband.
A bench of Justice Sachin Datta issued a notice to the Union government and directed it to file an affidavit in the case. The matter has been listed for hearing on November 12.
Her counsel told the court that a day after she left India, reports emerged that Pakistani women married to Indian nationals, whose long-term visa applications were pending, were allowed to stay back in the country. Several such women, he said, continue to reside in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur with their Indian husbands.
Rukaiya has now urged the court to grant her the same relief that was extended to other Pakistani women married to Indian citizens.
In her plea, she argued that under the constitutional right to equality, she deserves the same treatment as others in a similar situation.
