Nagpur: Love was stranded after borders were shut with Pakistan post-Operation Sindoor and planned weddings seemed a remote possibility in times of conflict. The Wagah-Attari gates had been slammed shut and the wait was punishing till hope flared up again a few months ago. At least 150 wannabe Pakistani brides took transit flights from Muscat, Colombo, Dhaka, Dubai and Qatar to touch down in Indian cities, including Nagpur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Raipur, Pune and Bhopal to recreate the enduring bond of ‘sindoor’.A special relaxation by the ministry of home affairs in coordination with a revered shrine in Sindh, enabled these journeys. Pakistani relatives were allowed to accompany the brides, but had to return within the stipulated period, making the marriages relatively low-profile. TOI has accessed visa permits and documents of Pakistani brides and spoke to many of the happily married Pakistani couples.In normal times, Pakistanis with an India visa simply cross over from Wagah, but now they had to take a circuitous air route as land borders were sealed. From April to June this year, brides arrived in India with 450-odd relatives.Living in India on a long-term visa, Inkesh Jashnani got engaged in the pre-Sindoor era and had planned the wedding last year. His bride Aarti was just a km away from Wagah border in May 2025 after a treacherous ride from Khanpur tehsil in Sindh, when India closed Attari gate. More than a year later, Aarti flew down to Nagpur via Muscat and tied the knot in March. Due to visa curbs she was accompanied only by her brother, as her parents stayed back. “I wish the borders open and I meet them once,” she says.Engaged to Kajal from Ghotki district in Sindh, three years ago, Sanjay Kalani, who resides in Nagpur after acquiring Indian citizenship, had nearly lost hope. The wedding was scheduled last year, but Kajal and her family could not cross the borders after Operation Sindoor. The wait seemed endless after that. The couple finally married 5 months ago as Kajal flew down from Karachi to Delhi via Muscat and reached Nagpur. Sanjay’s brother Dheeraj too found solace after his fiancée Sanjana came from Mirpur, an interior tehsil in Sindh, through the same route.There was a groom as well in the flights to India. Rabhel Jaswani came to India from Ghotki in Sindh along with his parents to marry Shriya at Nagpur and has stayed back since then. “I want to settle down in India, bring my parents too when the borders open,” he said.The revered Shadaani Darbar in Ghotki town of Sindh played a crucial role in taking up cause of the stranded brides in Pakistan, said a note shared by the shrine with TOI. The darbar’s peethadhish, Sant Yudhishtirlal Shadaani, ninth in the line of heirs, is now based in Raipur. The Shadaani Darbar built in reverence of 18th century saint Sant Shadaram Sahib holds much importance for the community across the borders. Rajesh Jhambia, a community leader, says this is the first batch from Sindh and govt of India must extend a similar gesture to other brides in waiting. As many 300 girls are still waiting to tie the knot in India.
