41,331 Pak, 4,193 Afghan citizens living in India, govt tells LS
New Delhi: As many as 41,331 Pakistani nationals and 4,193 Afghan citizens, belonging to religious minorities of the two countries, are living in India on a long-term basis, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Rai said keeping in view the difficulties faced by the members belonging to the six identified religious minorities of Pakistan and Afghanistan living in India in acquiring Long Term Visa (LTV), an online LTV application processing portal was launched in 2014.
“As per available information, 41,331 Pakistani nationals and 4,193 Afghan nationals belonging to religious minorities have been reported to be living in India on long term basis as on December 31, 2018,” he said in reply to a written question.
The basic objective of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was to facilitate granting Indian citizenship to members of six minority communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan even if they do not have valid documents, Rai told Lok Sabha Tuesday.
He said the bill was initially introduced in Lok Sabha three years ago as Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016, and was then referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
The committee submitted its report to Parliament on January 7 this year, he said.
“The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was taken into consideration and passed by Lok Sabha on January 8, 2019. It was pending for consideration and passing by the Rajya Sabha. Consequent to the dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha, this Bill has lapsed,” he said in a written reply to a question by Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi.
The minister also said the basic objective of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was to facilitate grant of Indian citizenship to members of six minority communities who has migrated from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh without valid travel documents or the validity of whose documents had expired.
Rai said the Citizenship Act, 1955, treats such persons as “illegal migrants” and disentitles them from applying for Indian citizenship.
He said the central government issued a Gazette Notification on October 24, 2018 under section 16 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, to facilitate expeditious grant of Indian citizenship only to the legal migrants from the six minority communities from the three countries if they fulfill the eligibility criteria.
“This notification does not amend the provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955 or the rules made thereunder. The notification of October 24, 2018 and the lapsed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 thus deal with different categories of immigrants from the six minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan,” he said. (PTI)
Press Trust of India
