At least 537 Pakistani citizens have left India through the Attari-Wagah border crossing in Punjab over the past four days as the deadline for them to leave the country ended on Sunday, reported The Hindu.

On April 24, India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced that the visas of Pakistani citizens in India would stand revoked from Sunday and that they had to leave the country before then. India also suspended visa services to Pakistani citizens with immediate effect.

The decision was taken in the aftermath of the terror attack at Baisaran near the town of Pahalgam on April 22 that left 26 persons dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.

An unidentified Punjab Police official told The Hindu that the movement of 353 passengers was registered on Sunday, which included the arrival of 116 persons from Pakistan and the departure of 237 from India.

Eighty-one Pakistani nationals left India on Saturday, 191 on Friday and 28 on Thursday, PTI reported. In addition, 342 Indians returned on Saturday, 287 on Friday and 105 on Thursday.

Between April 24 and Sunday, 850 persons from Pakistan had also arrived in India and 537 Pakistani nationals crossed over to the neighbouring country, Protocol Officer at the Attari border Arun Mahal told the news agency.

Pakistani citizens may also have left India using air routes via a third country, unidentified officials told PTI. There are no direct flights between India and Pakistan.

On April 24, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also announced that the Attari-Wagah border crossing would be closed with immediate effect.

Pakistani citizens would not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme. Any SVES visas issued in the past to Pakistani citizens will be deemed cancelled and Pakistani nationals in India have 48 hours to leave the country, the ministry had announced.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, a regional bloc, comprises India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The SVES system allows 24 categories of individuals, including dignitaries, judges of higher courts, parliamentarians, senior officials, businessmen, journalists and sportsmen, to travel without a visa.

On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had spoken to chief ministers of all states and directed them to ensure that no Pakistani citizen stayed in India beyond the deadline set for them to leave the country, according to PTI.

In Uttar Pradesh, the police in a statement said that the process of ensuring the exit of Pakistani citizens had been completed, The Hindu reported. Only one Pakistani citizen remained in the state and would leave on April 30, the police added.

In Delhi, an unidentified police officer told the newspaper that it had a list of about 2,500 Pakistani citizens, including those on long-term visas. “Most were not found living at the address provided in the immigration form indicating that they had left the country, but further verification with the airport and land port is on,” the newspaper quoted the official as saying.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that all Pakistanis were accounted for and that arrangements were being made to deport those whose visas have been revoked, PTI reported.

The Bihar government said that all Pakistani nationals who had entered the state recently had left ahead of the deadline, according to the news agency.

The April 22 terrorist attack was the first major one targeting civilians in Kashmir since the Union government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the punishment meted out by India for the attack in Pahalgam would be “bigger than what the terrorists imagine”.

Work towards responsible solution: US urges India, Pakistan

The United States on Sunday said that Washington was in touch with both India and Pakistan and had urged both countries to work towards a “responsible solution” to the tensions arising from the Pahalgam terror attack, reported Reuters.

“This is an evolving situation and we are monitoring developments closely,” a spokesperson from the US Department of State told Reuters. “We have been in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan at multiple levels.”

The spokesperson added: “The United States encourages all parties to work together towards a responsible resolution.”

The spokesperson said that Washington “stands with India and strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Pahalgam”. Earlier too, US President Donald Trump had condemned the attack and added that his country “stands strong with India against terrorism”.