The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to repatriate Rakshanda Rashid, a 63-year-old Pakistani woman, who was deported to Pakistan following heightened tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025. Justice Rahul Bharti issued the order on June 6, 2025, emphasizing humanitarian grounds and noting that her deportation was carried out without proper examination of her case. The court has given the Centre 10 days to implement the directive, with a compliance report due on July 1.

Rakshanda Rashid had been residing in Jammu for nearly 40 years with her husband and two children. She held a Long-Term Visa (LTV) which her attorney argued should have protected her from deportation. However, following the Pahalgam attack, the Union government suspended visa services for Pakistani citizens and directed them to leave India. Rakshanda was deported on April 30, 2025, the same day her plea challenging the deportation was scheduled for its first hearing.

Justice Bharti, in his order, highlighted that Rakshanda has no immediate family in Pakistan, suffers from multiple health conditions, and was currently stranded in a Lahore hotel. Her husband, Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, had filed a writ petition (WP(C) No 1072/2025) challenging her deportation, stating that she has no one to care for her in Pakistan and is gravely ill. The court acknowledged that her LTV status might have made her ineligible for deportation without proper scrutiny.

The High Court noted that the deportation occurred without a detailed hearing or a formal deportation order. Justice Bharti stressed the importance of human rights, stating, "Human rights are the most sacrosanct component of human life… there are occasions when a constitutional court is supposed to come up with SOS-like indulgence." The court directed the Union Home Ministry to retrieve Rakshanda and facilitate her reunion with her husband in Jammu.

This ruling comes in the wake of "Operation Sindoor," the government's crackdown against Pakistani nationals following the Pahalgam massacre. The Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025, resulted in the deaths of 26 civilians, mainly Hindu tourists, and heightened tensions between India and Pakistan. The incident led to retaliatory measures, including the suspension of visa services and the expulsion of Pakistani nationals.

The case has raised questions about the handling of individuals who had crossed over to Kashmir under earlier cross-border rehabilitation policies and settled in the region. Many such women remain in limbo, without citizenship or travel rights, despite having spent over a decade in the region.

Advocate Ms. Himani Khajuria represented the petitioner, while Deputy Solicitor General Vishal Sharma represented the Union of India and other respondents. The court's decision may have implications for dozens of similarly placed women who were brought to Kashmir as brides under the now-defunct rehabilitation policy for ex-militants who returned from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.