The terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, on Tuesday, which has further strained India-Pakistan relations, has led to the cancellation of a much-anticipated cross-border wedding. The wedding, scheduled for April 30, was disrupted when the groom’s baraat (wedding procession) reached the Wagah-Attari border on Thursday, only to be denied entry into Pakistan, forcing the family to return to Rajasthan.
Shaintan Singh, a 25-year-old groom from Barmer, Rajasthan, was engaged four years ago to Kesar Kanwar, a resident of Amarkot in Pakistan’s Sindh province. The engagement, rooted in cultural customs common to border communities, had been delayed for years due to visa issues. After facing numerous bureaucratic hurdles, Singh’s family finally received visa approval on February 18, enabling them to set the wedding date for April 30, well before the visas were set to expire on May 12.
However, tensions escalated following the deadly attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. In response, India suspended all visa services for Pakistani nationals and revoked previously granted visas, urging Pakistani citizens in India to leave by April 27. India also recommended that its citizens in Pakistan return home. As a result, the wedding procession was stopped at the Wagah-Attari border and forced to head back to Barmer, dashing the family’s long-awaited plans.
