Indian government opts against implementing group visa regime on March 15. PHOTO: FILE
“The group tourist visa facility under the liberalized visa regime agreed by India and Pakistan will not be implemented from March 15,” an Indian home ministry official said.
The two countries had agreed to relax stringent visa rules in September last year when Indian external affairs minister S M Krishna visited Islamabad. However, it was formally operationalised during Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s trip to New Delhi in December 2012.
Sources told the Times of India that the Indian government was concerned about infiltration attempts from the border after a recent attack in Srinagar raised concerns over cross-border terrorism.
Two suspected militants disguised as cricketers opened fire with automatic rifles on a paramilitary camp in Srinagar on Wednesday, killing five Indian personnel and wounding five, police said.
In January, India postponed the implementation of the visa-on-arrival facility for senior citizens following an attack along the Line of Control, in which two Indian soldiers were killed.
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