Baloch leader Brahamdagh Bugti’s application seeking political asylum in India was on Thursday received by the Home Ministry which is examining it.
“We have received Bugti’s application for political asylum and it is under examination,” a Home Ministry official said.
Bugti had applied for asylum in Indian consulate in Geneva three days ago and the application was subsequently forwarded to the Ministry of External Affairs, which in turn sent it to the Home Ministry.
India does not have a comprehensive asylum policy.
As per the United Nations, there are at least 6,480 asylum seekers in India but the government does not recognise them.
The situation is so complex that the officials in the Home Ministry are digging through 1959 records to check the process. In 1959, Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and his followers were granted asylum by the Jawaharlal Nehru government. “Ultimately, it is a political decision at the highest level but we need to follow the process for the requisite paperwork,” the official said.