Pakistan Stops Sikh Pilgrims; Canada Mishandles Protest & Deports Family

September

2026

Pakistan has stopped 92 Sikhs, including women and children, with valid visas for pilgrimage to Sri Hemkund Sahib, Uttarakhand, from boarding an indirect flight to India. The pilgrims had arrived at Faisalabad International Airport where the authorities stopped them from boarding a Gulf-bound flight as they did not possess a return ticket and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan federal government. An official from the federal government said, 'The Sikhs had arranged their Indian visas through the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. They should have coordinated with the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee for their travel and preferred Wagah Border for crossing into India.' However, currently there is no direct air, rail, or road link between Pakistan and India. Meanwhile, according to data from Australia's Department of Home Affairs, the nation's international student visa regime has become significantly tougher with the overall refusal rate reaching a 10-year high of 24.2% in June 2026. The refusal rate has risen sharply from 7.9% in June 2016. Applicants from Panjab, the rest of India, and Nepal faced particularly high refusal rates in 2025–26, with a refusal rate of 40% for India and 51% for Nepal. By comparison, the refusal rate for applicants from China was 5.8%. One of the key areas of assessment is the Genuine Student requirement. Applicants must demonstrate that their proposed studies are consistent with their work history, personal circumstances, and future career plans. Most rejected candidates allegedly could not do that. Concurrently in Canada, more than 250 rights groups including Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have sought an independent review of how border officials handled a student protest in Calgary. The protest was one of four held after roughly 1,500 people who completed non-credit courses at Portage College sites in Alberta lost their post-graduation work permits when new eligibility rules were applied to those courses. Furthermore, a Panjabi family that arrived in Canada in 2018 has been deported to India after Canadian authorities rejected its asylum claim and subsequent request to remain in the country on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Originally from Jalandhar and residing in Quebec, the family had spent nearly eight years in Canada, where the couple worked, paid taxes, and raised their two children (earlier coverage).