Petition Filed in Lahore High Court to Deport Indian Woman Over Visa Overstay

LAHORE, Nov 26 Report Ali Imran Chattha 

A Pakistani Sikh rights activist and former provincial lawmaker has moved the Lahore High Court, seeking the immediate deportation of an Indian Sikh woman who allegedly overstayed a non-extendable pilgrimage visa after converting to Islam and marrying a Pakistani citizen.

Mahinder Pall Singh — a former Parliamentary Secretary for Minority Affairs, former Member of the Punjab Assembly from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and ex-spokesperson for the Kartarpur Corridor project — filed a writ petition under Article 199 of the Constitution against the Federation of Pakistan, the ministries of interior and religious affairs, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Punjab government, and the Indian national, Sarabjeet Kaur.
According to the petition, Kaur, a resident of Muktsar in Indian Punjab, entered Pakistan on November 4, 2025, on a 10-day single-entry pilgrimage visa issued under the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines. The visa, which was valid only until November 13 and restricted her to visits to five Sikh shrines including Nankana Sahib and Kartarpur, was described as non-extendable.

The petitioner claims Kaur “disappeared” from the approved pilgrimage circuit shortly after arrival, converted to Islam, adopted the name Noor, and married Nasir Hussain of Sheikhupura on or around November 5. A copy of the nikah nama has been attached to the filing.
Singh argues that the alleged marriage represents a “grave misuse” of the pilgrimage visa system, potentially undermines national security, and has caused “embarrassment” to the global Sikh community. The petition also alleges that Kaur has a criminal record in India, including fraud cases registered in Bathinda and Kapurthala.
The petition requests the court to:
Order the production and immediate deportation of Sarabjeet Kaur alias Noor as an “illegal foreign resident" Direct the FIA to investigate how an individual with an alleged criminal background obtained a Pakistani visa;
Instruct Punjab Police to register a case against her Pakistani husband for allegedly harbouring an overstayer and facilitating her movement in prohibited areas;Enforce stricter pilgrimage visa controls, including a mandatory affidavit guaranteeing the timely return of all visiting pilgrims.
No hearing date has yet been announced. Officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the FIA immigration wing declined to comment, citing the matter’s sub-judice status.
Cross-border Sikh pilgrimage under the 1974 protocol remains one of the few sustained people-to-people channels between India and Pakistan despite strained diplomatic relations. In recent years, sporadic incidents of Indian pilgrims seeking to stay in Pakistan after marriage or religious conversion have raised concerns for both governments, prompting calls for tighter oversight of the relaxed visa regime.