Hindu migrants from Pakistan facing persecution eligible for long term visa: Government

Hindu migrants from Pakistan, seeking permanent settlement with a view to acquire Indian citizenship, are eligible for grant of long term visa, the government announced in Parliament on Thursday.

In a reply to a question in Parliament on the minority Hindu community continuously migrating from Sindh province due to violence and discrimination in Pakistan, the Minister of State for Ministry of External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, said, “There have been reports of atrocities against minority communities in Pakistan, including against the members of Hindu community. Incidents such as intimidation, abduction, persecution, forced conversions and marriages, which compel them to migrate, have been reported from time to time.”

Singh added, “Several members of the minority Hindu community in Pakistan apply for Indian visas at the High Commission of India in Islamabad, which are processed as per extant rules. Some of them who entered India on valid visas have not gone back to Pakistan on grounds of religious persecution.”

He said, “Hindu migrants from Pakistan, seeking permanent settlement with a view to acquire Indian citizenship, are eligible for grant of long term visa as per extant provisions.”