Pakistan on Friday reopened the gates at the Attari-Wagah border, allowing the return of its citizens stranded in India after their short-term visas were revoked by the Indian government in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The gates opening move came after nearly 24 hours of silence from Islamabad, during which several Pakistani nationals - many of them elderly or visiting family -were left in limbo on Indian soil despite New Delhi’s readiness to facilitate their return.

The border remained shut on Thursday, leaving several Pakistani nationals stranded on the Indian side. This came amid a week of chaotic cross-border movement following India's directive asking all Pakistani nationals on visas to leave the country after the April 22 carnage.

Since India announced the cancellation of select visa categories, 125 Pakistani nationals left the country via the Attari-Wagah border on Wednesday, pushing the seven-day exit tally to 911. Meanwhile, 15 Indian citizens holding Pakistani visas also crossed over, bringing the total of such departures to 23.

On the inbound side, 152 Indian nationals and 73 Pakistani nationals with long-term Indian visas entered the country through the Amritsar border, raising the respective totals to 1,617 and 224.

The exit deadlines varied by visa type: April 26 for SAARC visas, April 27 for 12 other categories, and April 29 for medical visas.

India announced a series of countermeasures against Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack. In addition to revoking visas, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, shut its airspace for all Pakistani-operated flights, and also banned the social media accounts of Pakistani nationals.

Top Court Relief

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has stayed the deportation of an Accenture employee from Bengaluru and his family as ordered by the government, which is cancelling visas and ejecting Pakistan nationals. The man - Ahmed Tariq Butt - had approached the court claiming his six-member family and he had been ordered to leave the country despite holding Indian passports and an Aadhaar card.

The court directed verification of the documents and directed that no coercive action be taken against Butt, who has an MBA from the IIM in Kerala's Kozhikode, till then. Butt was also asked to approach the high court for further relief.