People from the Maheshwari community in Pakistan visit India every year to get married in group weddings which take place in Rajkot.

The situation at the India-Pakistan border may be hostile ever since the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A in Kashmir but that did not stop two Pakistani couples from getting married in Gujarat's Rajkot with pomp and splendour.

They crossed the border and came to Rajkot especially to get married.

As per Pakistani laws, community marriages cannot be performed there. Amid all this, the Maheshwari community in Pakistan makes sure that the bride and the groom visit India to get married. Every year in Rajkot, people from the Maheshwari community organise group weddings where at a single venue, multiple weddings take place. Maheshwaris from Pakistan make sure to be a part of these wedding.

According to the brides and grooms, had they married in Pakistan, neither would there have been a band performance nor would have a Baraat procession taken place. They would have got married in a simple ceremony, sitting at home. The couples said in India they can get married extravagantly -- the guests were able to sing, dance and celebrate exactly the way they wanted.

One of the grooms, Anil Maheshwari is a resident of Pakistan's Karachi. He said, "Our Maheshwari community is found in good numbers in Pakistan as well as India. We support the abrogation of J&K's special status."

He added that there are many Maheshwaris in Gujarat's Rajkot and Kutch. During the India-Pakistan partition, few were left behind in Pakistan.

The groom also stated, "Many families in India still follow the tradition of exchanging food and marrying daughters across the border."

Many people from Pakistan's Maheshwari community, who wanted to live in Rajkot, have got Indian citizenship.