'I’m India’s daughter-in-law,' Seema Haider's Appeal as Govt Deports Pakistanis

New Delhi: Seema Haider, the Pakistani woman who crossed into India in 2023 to marry Sachin Meena, is now fearing deportation as India intensifies its crackdown on Pakistani nationals following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

After the attack, India suspended all visa services for Pakistanis and ordered every Pakistani national currently in the country to return home by April 27. Illegal entrants are also being deported, causing panic among individuals like Seema Haider, who had entered India without valid documents via Nepal last year along with her four children.

Haider, originally from Sindh province, came into the limelight when she left her country to live with Sachin Meena in Uttar Pradesh. She claims to have renounced Islam and adopted Hinduism after her marriage and recently gave birth to a daughter, Bharti Meena.

In a video circulating on social media, Haider pleads with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath , urging them to allow her to stay in India. Her lawyer, A.P. Singh, has also argued that her Pakistani citizenship no longer stands, as her identity is now tied to her Indian husband and child.

"Seema is no longer a Pakistani national. She married Sachin Meena, a resident of Greater Noida, and recently gave birth to their daughter Bharti Meena. Her citizenship is now connected with her Indian husband, and therefore the Centre's directive should not apply to her," Advocate Singh told PTI.

The Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that all valid Pakistani visas will expire by April 27, except medical ones, which will remain valid until April 29. The decision was part of a broader set of retaliatory steps taken during a high-level security meeting led by PM Modi in the wake of the Kashmir massacre.