Deportation delayed: Indian national Sarabjit Kaur shifted to Lahore shelter home

Amritsar: The prospects of the early deportation of Indian national Sarabjit Kaur have dimmed after she was transferred to Dar-ul-Aman, a women's shelter home in Lahore, due to the absence of the required clearance from Pakistan's ministry of interior. In a letter issued by Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) that went viral online, the deputy secretary, Shrines, Syed Faraz Abbas, wrote to Pakistan's Punjab govt's home department that Sarabjit's deportation was stayed and that she was transferred to Dar-ul-Aman.Faraz informed the home department that the requested permission from the ministry of interior to deport Sarabjit was still awaited, and asked the department to shift her to Dar-ul-Aman, where she could stay under strict police protection. Sarabjit Kaur, who was in contact with a Pakistani national, Nasir Hussain, over social media, travelled to Pakistan to meet him.
It is understood that both planned to marry. As obtaining a Pakistani visa proved difficult, Sarabjit decided to enter the country under the guise of a religious pilgrimage. She applied for a visa as part of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee's jatha that visited Pakistan to mark the 556th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev from Nov 4 to Nov 13, 2025, and joined the group of 1,932 Sikh pilgrims. However, on Nov 13, during the departure process at the Wagah border, it was discovered that Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Amanipur village in Kapurthala district, was missing and slipped away from the jatha.A letter issued by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) stated that, upon learning of her disappearance, all concerned departments immediately launched co-ordinated efforts, including a comprehensive search operation, to trace her whereabouts. A Pakistani Sikh leader filed a petition in court to deport her to India. Sarabjit was eventually traced in Nankana Sahib on January 4, from Pehre Wali village near Nankana Sahib, and taken into custody, as her Pakistani visa expired on November 13. Investigations later revealed that she married Nasir Hussain, converted to Islam, and adopted the name Noor Hussain. According to media reports, she may be granted permission to return to India in near future. Letters issued by the ETPB further state that, as her Pakistani visa expired, special permission was sought from the Ministry of Interior to facilitate her departure to India via the Wagah land border. Until such approval is granted, she will remain at Dar-ul-Aman, a women's shelter home in Lahore. MSID: 126452028 413 |