Srinagar, Saira Javaid, a Pakistani woman married to a Kashmiri man, Javaid Ahmad, has been reunited with her family in Karachi after a 16-year-long wait, a result of what she describes as restrictive policies by Indian authorities.

Kashmir Media Service reports that Javaid Ahmad was among the thousands of Kashmiri men who fled to Azad Kashmir and Pakistan during the early 1990s to escape Indian suppression. The couple met in Rawalpindi and got married in 2001. In 2007, they traveled to occupied Jammu and Kashmir, intending to visit Javaid’s ailing mother. Upon reaching, the family persuaded them to stay in the region.

Over the years, while Javaid felt at home in IIOJK, Saira yearned to return to her family in Pakistan but faced multiple obstacles from Indian authorities. “The problem began to surface when we arrived in Kashmir,” Saira recounted. In 2010, India introduced a rehabilitation policy allowing Kashmiris and their Pakistani spouses to return, but many faced challenges including livelihood, legal issues, and schooling for their children.

Saira highlighted her struggle, saying she watched her father’s funeral through a video call. However, with the intervention of human rights organizations, she was granted permission to return to Pakistan in June. The reunion was bittersweet as she had to leave her husband behind. In Karachi, which she fondly refers to as the “city of lights,” she conveyed her overwhelming emotions and her desire for free movement between families.

Over time, Saira became a prominent figure in Srinagar, inspiring many women through protests and press conferences against the prevailing situation. This information was sourced from the Kashmir Media Service.