New Delhi: The India-Pakistan border may have been closed, but it could not keep families apart forever. Around 150 Pakistani brides from Sindh have finally reached India to marry their Indian fiancés after their weddings were delayed following the launch of ‘Operation Sindoor’.

For years, Sindhi families in Pakistan had arranged marriages with families in India, with the Wagah-Attari route providing relatively convenient travel and visa access. However, the situation changed after ‘Operation Sindoor’, when visa and road access through the Attari route was halted, leaving several prospective brides stranded in Pakistan.

Rajesh Jhambia, a Nagpur-based community leader working with Sindhi migrants from Pakistan, said the prolonged wait had finally ended. According to him, the Centre subsequently facilitated visas for the women and their relatives, allowing them to travel to India for their weddings.

The brides and their family members travelled through third countries, including Dubai, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other locations, before reaching India by air.

Jhambia said the issue was taken up with Sant Yudhisterlal Shadani of Raipur, spiritual head of Shadani Darbar in Ghotki, Sindh. A list was prepared of Pakistani women who were already engaged to men in India and awaiting their weddings.

Around 150 brides were identified, with weddings planned in Nagpur, Raipur, Jodhpur, Pune and other Indian cities. The list was subsequently submitted to the Union Home Ministry with a request to facilitate their entry into India.

According to Jhambia, the authorities permitted the women and their families to travel to India by air rather than through the closed Attari route.

“Since April this year, 150 Pakistani brides and their families have arrived in India for weddings via Dubai, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other countries,” he said, adding that 15 such cases involved families from Nagpur.

‘Operation Sindoor’ was launched by India in response to the deadly 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were killed.

Jhambia said the process is not yet over, with around 300 more Pakistani women reportedly waiting to travel to India for marriages. He urged the Indian government to consider issuing visas to them so their long-delayed weddings can also take place.