Major decline seen in issuance of Indian visas for Pakistanis

While 52, 525 Pakistanis recieved visas in 2016, 34,445 were given visas in 2017

Indian Home Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha (India's lower house of parliament), on Tuesday, of a sharp decrease in the number of visas issued to Pakistanis.

According to the Hindustan Times, 52, 525 Pakistanis received visas in 2016, while 34,445 were given visas in 2017. Meanwhile, over 1.2 million Bangladeshis received Indian visas in 2017- up from 0.93 million in 2016. The issue of Indian obstruction in the issuance of medical visas has been highlighted in 2017.



Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal has said in the recent past that New Delhi was playing politics over humanitarian issues. “India is continuing to impose a condition on Pakistani patients seeking medical treatment in India that they must possess a reference letter from the foreign minister to be granted a visa,” he told reporters at a press conference in November. “The Indian government’s attitude towards these patients is inhuman and a tactic to create more difficulties for them,” he added.



According to previous reports in Indian media, the new policy of issuing medical visas for Pakistanis is in line with unspecified visa restrictions imposed by New Delhi after Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav was given death sentence by a special military court in Pakistan for “espionage and subversive activities” in the country.