Srinagar, October 30, KDC: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has sought a compliance report from the district administration on its previous directive asking the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to retrieve an 18-year-old boy who was deported to Pakistan last year, allegedly in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Hearing a contempt petition filed by the boy’s father, Sajjad Ahmed, a bench of Justice Rahul Bharti called upon the Senior Additional Advocate General (AAG) representing the District Magistrate, Rajouri, to apprise the court of the “latest inputs” on bringing the youth back to India.
“This Court calls upon Mrs. Monika Kohli, learned Sr. AAG representing the District Magistrate, Rajouri to apprise this Court about latest inputs… in the matter of carrying out the compliance of the writ court’s direction as given in judgment dated 25.03.2026 which is meant to procure the petitioner’s son-Aasim Sajjad aka Fardin Sajjad who has been shifted to Pakistan but has been directed to be retrieved to join the parental company of the petitioner,” Justice Bharti said in the order, listing the matter for November 2.
Sajjad Ahmed, a 42-year-old government teacher from Rajouri, travelled to Pakistan in December 2005 and married his cousin, Shabnam Kouser.
Their son, Fardin Sajjad (also known in India as Aasim Sajjad), was born in Gujranwala, Pakistan, in October 2006. A year later, Kouser and the infant travelled to India on a valid visa. The family lived a normal life in Rajouri, with the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) granting yearly visa extensions.
However, tragedy struck when Kouser died of a fatal illness in June 2013, leaving the then six-year-old boy in the sole care of his Indian father. Sajjad continued to secure visa extensions for his son while repeatedly petitioning the authorities to grant him Indian citizenship.
According to the Sajjad , the situation took a drastic turn on April 29, 2025—just days after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Sajjad alleged that police personnel stormed their house at 4:00 AM, shuttled his son into a police van, and forcibly deported him to Pakistan via the Wagah Border without prior information.
The Sajjad argued before the court that his son, who had completed his Class 12 studies in India and lived there since 2007, had no immediate family in Pakistan except a widowed aunt who struggles to make ends meet. He pleaded that his child was stuck in a “conflict zone between two nations and their hostilities.”
The Centre, in its defense, argued that the boy was staying in the country without a valid visa after its expiry. The authorities stated that the deportation was carried out in accordance with a “Leave India” notice and was a valid exercise of the State’s sovereign power to regulate the entry and stay of foreigners.
Ruling in favor of the petitioner in a judgment pronounced on March 25, 2026, Justice M.A. Chowdhary had directed the MHA to retrieve the youth so he could pursue his pending applications for a Long Term Visa (LTV) and Indian citizenship.
Taking a compassionate view of the boy’s circumstances, the court observed: “…having regard to the sacrosanct human values and rights, the court must step in to pass certain directions.”
The court had directed the MHA to complete the retrieval exercise and process the citizenship application within eight weeks, keeping in mind the “human aspect of the matter.” (KDC)