Jaisalmer | April 26, 2025:
Fear and desperation have gripped Hindu refugees from Pakistan living in India as the government’s Sunday deadline for Pakistani nationals to leave looms closer. Having fled systemic religious persecution, many now plead with folded hands not to be sent back to what they describe as a "living hell."
The Ministry of Home Affairs has clarified that long-term visas issued to Hindu migrants will remain valid. However, those on short-term visas — many of whom arrived recently — find themselves in a perilous situation, uncertain about their future.
At "Eklavya Bhil Basti," a refugee settlement in Mulsagar village of Jaisalmer, over a thousand Pakistani Hindu refugees face an agonizing wait. Most of them had crossed over into India via the Wagah-Attari border, dreaming of a life free from discrimination.
Among them is Kheto Ram, a former resident of Sindh province, who along with his wife and two sons, arrived just hours before terrorists struck in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam earlier this week, killing 26 civilians. “We sold everything we had to escape. Going back to Pakistan is worse than death. I would rather die in India,” said a visibly emotional Kheto Ram, appealing to the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for compassion.
Another refugee, Balam, echoed the sentiment. Holding his young son in his arms, he said with anguish, “We left our home, our land, and our life behind for safety. Please don’t send us back to certain death.”
The fear among these refugees is not unfounded. The latest report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has once again flagged the deteriorating situation of minorities in Pakistan, citing rampant persecution, misuse of blasphemy laws, and growing insecurity for Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians. The USCIRF report has called for Pakistan to be redesignated as a "Country of Particular Concern."
The humanitarian crisis unfolds against the backdrop of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, which has further complicated the status of refugees who arrived on temporary permits.
As the April 27 deadline approaches, thousands of Hindu refugees live in a state of fear and uncertainty, clinging to the hope that the Indian government will recognize their plight — and allow them to continue the lives they had risked everything to rebuild.
