For an Army rescue boat in Srinagar, one call of help came from a group of women who, it turned out, were Pakistani nationals. And when three of them came on board, the Army learnt there were 28 of them, men, women and even a 10-year old girl, Aksa Jamshed, trapped at three locations within Srinagar. In India to participate in the SAARC Golf Tournament, since cancelled, the group was taken to Badami Bagh Cantonment and arrangements were made to send them to Lahore.

Faiza Malik, 57, of Nisar Colony in Lahore Cantonment reached Srinagar last week. She was sleeping on the first floor of her hotel Saturday night when her husband told her to move to the second floor as water started rushing into their room. “By the time we reached the second floor, the first floor was completely filled with water. Water kept rushing through the windows all night. It was frightening,” Malik said after she was ferried to B Cantonment.

With no water, food, electricity, mobile network and sanitation facilities, the group, split into batches of three, spent two nights and all of Sunday, as one of the women put it, “losing hope with every passing moment”.

The grateful group says the rescue operations that followed were “unexpected”. “Normally, one thinks differently of the Indian Army. We too had lost hope but the systematic manner in which we were rescued, we praise the Indian Army,” said Tariq Malik, 62, of Lahore Cantonment.

The first question many asked after being rescued Monday morning was the status of Imran Khan-led siege in Pakistan. The little girl was, however, more concerned about what she would get to eat. “I was hungry. There was nothing to eat and it was dark everywhere,” Aksa said.

“The Army has recorded the addresses and passport numbers of all the Pakistani nationals. We have evacuated them to Nehru Park helipad from where they will be taken to the airport for movement to Delhi or their destination in Pakistan,” said Col Bridges Pandey, Col GS (IW), Headquarters 15 Corps, Srinagar.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.