The Supreme Court of India has stopped the deportation of a family of six, who were being sent to Pakistan even though they hold Indian passports, Aadhaar cards, and voter IDs. The court gave them temporary relief and asked them to present their case to the right authorities.

Ahmed Tariq Butt, who lives in Bengaluru and works in an IT company, filed a petition saying that his family was being forced to cross the Attari-Wagah border. He said they were being treated like Pakistani citizens even though they had official Indian documents.

“We are a total of six members in the same family. Two brothers work in Bangalore. Our parents, sister, and another brother are in Srinagar,” he told the court.

Tariq Butt said that every family member has a valid Indian passport issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, along with Aadhaar cards. His sister Ayesha Tariq and brothers Abubakar Tariq and Umar Tariq Butt are also part of the family.

Tariq’s father is originally from Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), while his mother was born in Srinagar. Tariq himself was born in PoK and lived there until 1997, when he crossed into India and settled in Srinagar. He later moved to Bengaluru and completed his management studies at IIM Kozhikode.

According to Tariq’s petition, the Foreigners' Regional Officer (FRO) claimed that the family had entered India on Pakistani visas in 1997 and were now required to leave. However, Tariq denied this. He said that their documents clearly show Indian nationality and that his own passport lists his place of birth as Srinagar.

The case was brought into focus after the recent Pahalgam terror attack, which led to tighter security and checks. But the Supreme Court has now paused the deportation and asked the family to share their side with the concerned department.

 

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