The distance between India and Pakistan is just a few steps at the Attari-Wagah border crossing.
But for families like Sana's, it now feels like a world apart.
Emotions ran high this week as a deadline passed for Pakistani citizens on short-term visas to leave India.
It followed a deadly militant attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, that the Indian government has linked to Pakistan, an accusation Islamabad strongly denies.
India has responded with a range of tough measures including suspending diplomatic ties, halting a key water-sharing treaty, and giving Pakistani nationals on short-term visas 48 hours to leave.
In response, Pakistan cancelled visas for Indian nationals, and both countries recalled diplomats.
'We shouldn't have come'
Caught in the diplomatic fallout is 30-year-old Sana, an Indian citizen who moved to Pakistan after marrying there in 2020.
She had returned to India a fortnight ago with her children to visit her parents.
Days later, their trip was abruptly cut short.
Like hundreds of others, she scrambled to meet the government's orders.
Her husband was waiting for her and their children across the border in Pakistan.
But when she tried to leave, Indian officials stopped her — because she's not a Pakistani national.
Sana has a one-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, who are Pakistani citizens and would have been allowed to return.
"All I could think was that the kids shouldn't be separated from me. I have small kids, they can't live without me, and I can't live without them," she told the ABC.
She said officials took pity on her and said she could stay with her kids in India, but she could not cross into Pakistan.
"They said no one will say anything to you, you can stay here," she said.
Now, Sana and her children are back at her parent's home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, about 400 kilometres from the Attari-Wagah border crossing.
She said she was worried about what could happen next.
"After so many hurdles we were finally able to visit my parents, but we couldn't even stay here peacefully for 45 days," she said.
"Now I feel we shouldn't have come."
Colonial legacy still dividing families
The border between India and Pakistan is more than a physical dividing line.
It's a legacy of partition, when British colonial rule ended in 1947 and the subcontinent was split in two.
Pakistan was created as a homeland for Muslims, while India remained a secular republic.
The partition triggered one of the largest and bloodiest mass migrations in history.
About 15 million people were displaced and up to two million were killed in communal violence.
In the decades since, the two nations have fought multiple wars, and tensions have remained high, particularly over the region of Kashmir.
At the time of partition, Kashmir was a Muslim-majority princely state whose Hindu ruler opted to join India in exchange for military protection, after Pakistani-backed forces entered the region.
Ever since, Kashmir has remained a flashpoint.
Both countries claim it in full but control it in parts, while those who live there often have had little control over their own future.
Despite the fraught history, people have tried to preserve ties through cross-border marriages.
But it's not been without difficulties.
Visas are rarely granted, and couples live with constant uncertainty.
Shahbaz Malik's wife, a Pakistani national, had her Indian visa rejected three times since 2020.
It was finally approved, but just days after she arrived, she was ordered to leave.
"I agree the attack was wrong. But why are we being punished for it?" he told the ABC.
After just six days in India, his wife left on Tuesday, bidding a teary farewell to her eight-year-old son.
"What's his fault, he's been separated from his mother? What is my fault? My wife got a visa after six years and she had to leave after six days," he told the ABC at the Attari-Wagah border.
"I'm still hoping God performs a miracle and she comes out. That's why I'm waiting here, hoping some guidelines come out and they don't let her go."
Wedding, family trip thwarted
Around 800 Pakistani nationals crossed back into their country this week, along with 1,400 Indians heading the other way.
For many, the return was heart wrenching.
One woman had waited 14 years for a visa to visit her brother, only to leave after eight weeks.
A groom had planned to marry in Pakistan this week.
Another family came so their children could meet their grandparents for the first time.
Frustrated, Sana said governments on both sides needed to consider the human cost of their politics.
"A law should be made that no-one from there should get married here and no-one from here should get married there. Because we are the ones who are impacted," she said.
"We couldn't leave India with the same joy we came with. My family here is upset and so are my husband and in-laws in Pakistan."
