Pak Hindu migrants can stay on

Apr 11, 2013 - Namrata Biji Ahuja |

Age Correspondent

New Delhi

The latest batch of Hindu migrants from Pakistan will not be forced to return there. The Union home ministry is considering granting “long-term visas” on humanitarian grounds. With Pakistani Hindus refusing to return home after their visas expired Monday, the government has decided to offer them protection on the basis of reference to persecution of religious minorities, top government sources said.
Nearly 500 Hindus from Pakistan entered India on pilgrimage visas to attend the Mahakumbh. A majority of Pakistani Hindus have applied for Indian “citizenship”, but that requires at least seven to 12 years’ stay in the country.
The BJP had urged the government to favourably consider their case.
Officials said the MHA had requested the Delhi government to initiate the process to grant long-term visas to these migrants after scrutinising their applications on a case-by-case basis. For now, they have been granted a month’s visa extension.
Once the applications are received from the Delhi government, the MHA will initiate the process to grant long-term visas after verifying their antecedents.
The MHA will follow a step-by-step approach on requests to grant citizenship to the Pakistani Hindus as part of its “sympathetic approach”. Officials said foreign nationals with relatives or any other links in India need to spend at least seven years here to be eligible, while those foreigners with no such links must spend at least 12 years in this country to be eligible for citizenship.

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