By IANS,
New Delhi : India has conveyed to China “at the highest level” its concerns over stapled visas issued to people from Jammu and Kashmir, the government said Wednesday.
Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said India was aware of the Chinese policy of issuing stapled visas.
“The government’s position is that Jammu and Kashmir is integral and (an) inalienable part of India,” she said in a statement in the Lok Sabha.
“There should be no discrimination against visa applications of Indian nationality on grounds of domicile and ethnicity,” she added.
The minister said this “has been clearly conveyed to the Chinese government on several occasions including at the highest level”.
The minister added that China recently began issuing new electronic passports with watermarks of a map of China that depict Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as its territory.
“Our embassy and its consulates in China have started stamping a round seal of the map of India depicting our correct external boundaries on visas stamped on such passports,” she said.