Nearly all Pakistani citizens leave India following visa cancellation - media
Almost all Pakistani nationals who were instructed to leave India following New Delhi's visa cancellation in the wake of the attack in Jammu and Kashmir have departed the country, according to the Indian Interior Ministry’s data.
According to the data, since April 24, 537 Pakistani citizens have exited India through the Attari checkpoint in the Indian state of Punjab, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Indian immigration authorities continue to verify compliance with the government’s order after the April 27 deadline for Pakistani nationals to leave the country expired.
On April 24, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced that it was suspending the issuance of visas to Pakistani nationals and cancelling previously granted visas effective April 27. Medical visas issued to Pakistani citizens remain valid until April 29. The decision does not apply to Hindu Pakistani citizens who are staying in India on long-term visas.
New Delhi imposed these measures after an attack in Jammu and Kashmir killed 26 people. Indian authorities accused Pakistani intelligence services of being involved in the attack.
On April 22, armed men wearing fatigues opened fire with machine guns in the popular tourist town of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 25 Indian citizens and one Nepalese national, injuring many others. The attackers fled the scene.
In the wake of the attack, India reduced the size of its embassy staff in Islamabad by nearly half, declared the military advisors of the Pakistani diplomatic mission in India personae non gratae, and closed the key Attari checkpoint on the border. Indian authorities also suspended the agreement with Islamabad on water resource distribution and halted the issuance of visas to Pakistani citizens.
News.Az
