The human cost of tensions at the border often manifest themselves in the lives of common people. Take Mahendra Singh, for instance, whose wedding with Changan Kanwar had to be indefinitely postponed due to souring relations between India and Pakistan.
The reason? Mahendra is from Barmer district in Rajasthan while his prospective bride Chagan is from the Amarkot district in Pakistan.
Mahendra was set to travel to Pakistan last Saturday to get married on March 8, ANI reported. However, following the Indian Air Force strike in Balakot and the capture and consequent return of IAF wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the groom and his family decided to postpone the wedding till a more peaceful time. ANI reported that Thar Express, the train on which the groom and his family had booked passage, failed to leave due to lack of clearance from Pakistani authorities.
However, Hindustan Times, reported that the groom's side decided to cancel the tickets as tensions between the two countries refused to die down. The prospective bride and groom had been engaged for almost three years and the wedding date was decided upon a month ago.
Mahendra had procured visas for himself and five other members of his family who were supposed to travel with him on Saturday via the Thar Express. The visas came into effect on Feb 14, the day the dastardly attack on the Central Reserve Police Force was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammad, killing at least 40 jawans.
Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a military and diplomatic stand-off with even train and flight schedules between the two nations getting affected. Following the return of wing commander Abhinandan Varthaman, who spent 60 hours in Pakistani custody after being captured, there has been a deescalation in military tensions. However, both countries have reported repeated ceasefire violations along the Line of Control.