'Border' stays at Attari border as Pakistan denies entry to couple over lack of papers

NEW DELHI: The Pakistan government has denied entry to a Pakistani couple, who is among several others stranded at the Attari International Border for over 70 days due to lack of necessary documents to establish their nationality and the purpose of their India visit.

The Pakistani couple - Nimbu Bai and Balam Ram – became proud parents of a baby boy on December 2. Since the baby boy was delivered at the international border, the couple named their child 'Border'.

According to reports, pregnant Nimbu Bai went into labour on December 2. With the help of some women from the neighbouring Punjab villages, Nimbu Bai delivered her child. The locals also arranged medical facilities for the delivery besides rendering other help.

The parents, Nimbu Bai and Balam Ram, who hail from the Rajanpur district of Punjab province of Pakistan, had been stranded at the Attari Border along with 98 other Pakistani citizens. They all had come to India on a pilgrimage besides meeting their relatives before the lockdown.

They could not return home since lockdown was imposed and they lacked the requisite documents.

Like Nimbu Bai and Balam Ram, there are several others who had been stranded at the Attari border for months. They belong to various districts in Pakistan, including Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur.

They all have been living in a tent at the Attari Border as Pakistani rangers have refused to accept most of them. These families had been camping in a parking lot near the Attari international check-post. The locals have been providing them with three meals a day beside medicines and clothes.

Local advocate Navjot Kaur Chabba said that a transit visa will be obtained for the boy who was born in the rural area from the SSP rural. After obtaining the transit visa, it would be sent to the Ministry of External Affairs which will initiate the due legal process to deport the family to Pakistan.

She also cited the case of baby girl Heena, who was born at the Amritsar Central Jail, and later deported to Pakistan.