Deccan Herald: Chandigarh:
Thursday, April 11, 2013.
As many as
8,037 Pakistani nationals are staying illegally in India, according to an RTI
enquiry from a Haryana advocate and rights activist.
The
whereabouts of these Pakistani nationals are unknown. Bangladesh nationals tops
the list of people staying illegally in India with over 24,000 overstayed for long. The information,
received on March 18 this year, tends to expose the arguably lax functioning of
intelligence and other agencies.
The motive of
their stay in India may or may not be suspect, and could simply necessitate a
case under relevant sections of the Foreigners Act. But there have been cases
in the past, some very recent ones as well, where such persons have eventually
come under the scanner and were probed for terror links.
Only a few
days ago, a Karachi-based Pakistani national, identified as Mohammad Samim, was
arrested in the Jama Masjid area of New Delhi, for staying illegally in India
after the expiry of visa some months ago. He was interrogated by a joint team
comprising the Intelligence Bureau and the Delhi police to ascertain if his
illegal stay has any terror connection.
Advocate
Rajesh Sharma said he had sought information from the Union government on the
number of foreigners staying illegally in India and the efforts being made to
deport them. The RTI reveals that India
has a whopping over 71,000 foreigners from 42 nations staying illegally on its
soil. Afghanistan nationals in large numbers, too, are staying illegally.
The
seriousness with which the security and other agencies operate can be gauged by
the fact that a Pakistani national, identified as Nazeemuddin, was arrested a
couple of days ago from Firozabad (UP) for staying in India illegally for the
last 13 years after the expiry of his visa in 1998. There are also reports of
foreign nationals having entered the country without valid travel documents and
some instances of illegal activities by them.
.JPG)
.JPG)
