Around 150 Pakistani Sindhi women engaged to Indian men have reached India for their long-delayed weddings after months of uncertainty caused by visa restrictions and the closure of the Wagah-Attari route.
The women and their relatives travelled through third countries, including Oman, the UAE, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, after the Ministry of Home Affairs reportedly permitted them to enter India by air. The development has brought relief to families separated by the border, but nearly 300 more women are still waiting for visas, according to Nagpur-based community leader Rajesh Jhambia.
The arrangements followed appeals from the Sindhi community and the Shadaani Darbar in Ghotki, Pakistan, which reportedly submitted a list of brides to the Home Ministry. “The long wait is over, finally,” Jhambia told media.
While the government has not publicly issued a detailed statement specifically on these wedding-related visas, official records confirm that India closed the Integrated Check Post at Attari after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and subsequently imposed several measures affecting travel from Pakistan.
A Long Route To The Mandap
For years, families from Pakistan’s Sindh province had travelled through the Wagah-Attari crossing for marriages between Pakistani Sindhi women and Indian men.
That changed after India closed the Attari Integrated Check Post following the Pahalgam terror attack and amid the subsequent deterioration in India-Pakistan relations. The government’s decision left at least 150 planned marriages in limbo, according to community representatives.
With the land route unavailable, families sought another way. Jhambia said the community approached Sant Yudhishtirlal Shadaani, the spiritual head of Shadaani Darbar, a prominent Sindhi religious institution associated with Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh province.
A list of around 150 women engaged to Indian men was prepared and submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking visa facilitation for the brides and their relatives. The reported approval came with a key condition: the travellers had to enter India by air.
Since April, the brides and their families have consequently travelled through transit points including Muscat, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other countries. Around 15 of the reported cases involved Nagpur.
The journeys have been far more complicated than the traditional cross-border route. The Times of India reported that brides reached cities including Nagpur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Pune and Bhopal.
Relatives were also permitted to accompany them, although they were required to return within the period specified by their visas, meaning several ceremonies were held on a relatively low-key scale. For families who had spent months waiting, however, reaching India was itself a moment of immense relief.
From Border Closure To Weddings
The restrictions stem from the aftermath of the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. India subsequently announced a series of measures against Pakistan.
A Press Information Bureau document lists the immediate closure of the Integrated Check Post at Attari among the measures approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security.
It also records restrictions concerning Pakistani nationals travelling under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme. India later launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, 2025, describing it as a targeted military response against terror infrastructure.
The border restrictions had consequences well beyond official crossings and diplomatic arrangements. For families with pre-existing engagements and wedding plans, the inability to travel meant ceremonies could not proceed as expected. Recent reporting has highlighted individual cases that show the human cost of the disruption.
The Times of India reported that Aarti, who was reportedly only about a kilometre from the Wagah border when the route was shut, eventually reached Nagpur by flying via Muscat. Visa restrictions meant her parents could not accompany her, and only her brother travelled with her.
Another couple, Sanjay Kalani and Kajal from Pakistan’s Ghotki district, had waited for years after their engagement before Kajal travelled from Karachi to Delhi via Muscat and then reached Nagpur for the wedding.
For these families, the latest development does not signal a reopening of normal India-Pakistan travel. Rather, it represents a case-specific arrangement that allowed eligible wedding parties to travel by air despite the continued disruption of the traditional land route. Nearly 300 women are still waiting for similar visas, and community representatives have urged the government to extend the arrangement to them as well.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The story of these 150 brides sits at the intersection of national security, diplomacy and deeply personal relationships. India’s concerns over terrorism and cross-border security are serious, and governments have a responsibility to protect citizens.
At the same time, ordinary families should not be reduced to the tensions between two states. Where security considerations allow, compassionate and carefully regulated pathways for genuine family reunions, marriages and other humanitarian circumstances can preserve the human connections that politics often strains. The reported decision to facilitate these wedding journeys shows that security and empathy need not always be opposing ideas.
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