‘Pak Hindus can get visas extended’
17 Aug 2012 8:26 AM IST
With several hundred Pakistani Hindus arriving in India following alleged persecution, the government on Thursday said they will get long-term visas to stay in the country if they apply under stipulated rules.
‘So far, no one has applied for long-term visa. Basically, we have norms for the long-term visa. If they apply under them, they will get it,’ Union home secretary R K Singh said here.
He was replying to a question on the possibility of India granting long-term visas to those Pakistani Hindus who have come to the country in last few days.
Most of these people have come on a month-long visa ostensibly for pilgrimage and many of them have reportedly expressed their desire not to go back to Pakistan. Almost all Pakistani Hindus, before leaving that country, had to give an undertaking to the authorities there that they would not seek asylum from the Indian government and that they would return to Pakistan within 30 days.
Head of such a group, Anup Kumar had alleged that Hindu families were not safe in Pakistan, since kidnapping of young Hindu girls and brides by fundamentalists at gunpoint had become a routine affair.
He did not rule out the possibility that majority of the community members would never like to go back to Pakistan under the prevailing circumstances.
118 MORE PILGRIMS ARRIVE IN INDIA
With uncertainty writ large on their faces, 118 Pakistani Hindus arrived in India on board the Samjhauta Express, the peace train between India and Pakistan, here on Thursday. Though most of the people arriving from Pakistan remained tight-lipped about their stay and future in India, some of them said that they were not sure whether they will return to Pakistan. The Pakistani Hindus are under a cloud of fear following recent incidents of being forced to convert to Islam in Pakistan. The Pakistani Hindus have complained that they were being subjected to threats, kidnappings and murders for refusing to convert to Islam. ‘We have still not decided whether we will go back or stay here,’ said Anil Kumar, who arrived on Thursday with his family. Authorities in Pakistan have been forcing Hindus there, who are coming to India, to sign documents assuring that [the Hindus] will return to Pakistan.
‘So far, no one has applied for long-term visa. Basically, we have norms for the long-term visa. If they apply under them, they will get it,’ Union home secretary R K Singh said here.
He was replying to a question on the possibility of India granting long-term visas to those Pakistani Hindus who have come to the country in last few days.
Most of these people have come on a month-long visa ostensibly for pilgrimage and many of them have reportedly expressed their desire not to go back to Pakistan. Almost all Pakistani Hindus, before leaving that country, had to give an undertaking to the authorities there that they would not seek asylum from the Indian government and that they would return to Pakistan within 30 days.
Head of such a group, Anup Kumar had alleged that Hindu families were not safe in Pakistan, since kidnapping of young Hindu girls and brides by fundamentalists at gunpoint had become a routine affair.
He did not rule out the possibility that majority of the community members would never like to go back to Pakistan under the prevailing circumstances.
118 MORE PILGRIMS ARRIVE IN INDIA
With uncertainty writ large on their faces, 118 Pakistani Hindus arrived in India on board the Samjhauta Express, the peace train between India and Pakistan, here on Thursday. Though most of the people arriving from Pakistan remained tight-lipped about their stay and future in India, some of them said that they were not sure whether they will return to Pakistan. The Pakistani Hindus are under a cloud of fear following recent incidents of being forced to convert to Islam in Pakistan. The Pakistani Hindus have complained that they were being subjected to threats, kidnappings and murders for refusing to convert to Islam. ‘We have still not decided whether we will go back or stay here,’ said Anil Kumar, who arrived on Thursday with his family. Authorities in Pakistan have been forcing Hindus there, who are coming to India, to sign documents assuring that [the Hindus] will return to Pakistan.
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