(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Refusing to return to their country of origin, Pakistani wives of former militants who were rehabilitated in Kashmir have made an emotional appeal to the government - pleading to either allow them to stay or send them back in“body bags.”
They have asserted they would rather die than return to their old country.
Alyza Rafiq, married to an ex-militant, came to Kashmir in 2013 under the then-chief minister Omar Abdullah's policy that enabled the rehabilitation of ultras who had gone to Pakistan or Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir for arms training, but abjured violence and wanted to return to the valley.
Living at present in this north Kashmir district, Rafiq said police have told her to leave the country.
“We have been asked to leave the country. I have three children. They have told me to leave my youngest daughter here. She is little, how can I leave her here!” Rafiq told PTI.
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“How can I leave my husband here. I have built a house here. We came here because of the government's policy ... What have we done? What is our fault in this? We have an election card, Aadhar card. I have voted in elections,” she said.
With tears rolling down her cheeks, Rafiqa appealed to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to let them live in Kashmir -– her home for the last 12 years.
“I appeal to the Governor sahib, please do not be cruel to us. We have not committed any sin. Please let us live here. If not, then kill us and send our bodies across the border,” she said.
Zahida Begum, another such Pakistani woman, said she wants to live in peace, in Kashmir.
“Police have asked me to leave. I do not want to go back. I have two daughters, Maryam and Aamna. My son, Faizan, is 10 and they are telling me to keep him here. I do not want to go back, please forgive me. I want to live here,” she said.
Begum showed up her domicile certificate, Aadhar, election card, and ration card, which she said were issued by the government.
“It will ruin the lives of my children. I have been living here for 15 years, I have lived a good life and I want to live in peace. Even my children do not want to go back,” she said.
Most of these women had married former Kashmiri militants who had crossed over to Pakistan or Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) for arms training during the height of militancy in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Over the years, many militants grew disillusioned with violence and sought to return home under a 2010 rehabilitation policy announced by the Omar Abdullah-led government.
The policy aimed to offer a peaceful reintegration to militants who had renounced militancy and wanted to live a normal life. However, it did not officially include a provision for the Pakistani wives they brought back with them.
Despite this gap, hundreds of families - mostly through the Nepal route - returned, believing they would be allowed to stay and rebuild their lives in Kashmir.
Initially, these women faced social and bureaucratic challenges but gradually integrated into local communities.
They raised families, sent their children to schools, and contributed quietly to local economies. Some even acquired basic documentation like Aadhar cards, voter IDs, and ration cards, further strengthening their ties to the region.
However, legal ambiguities about their citizenship status remained unresolved for years.
Now, facing the threat of deportation, the women say they feel trapped between two worlds - rejected by the country of their origin and denied acceptance in the place they now call home.
Several of them emphasize they have no future or social support back in Pakistan, where returning families are often viewed with suspicion or hostility.
“We have no home there anymore,” one woman said.“Our home is here - in Kashmir.”
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