New Delhi : Over 5,000 Pakistanis and more than 1,300 Bangladeshis have been found to be overstaying in India, the government said Tuesday.
“As per the data, 5,264 Pakistan nationals, 514 Afghanistan nationals and 1,356 Bangladesh nationals, who had entered the country on valid travel documents, were found to be overstaying since June 2012,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
He also said that till 2013, 32,039 Pakistanis, 54,150 Afghans (including 10,340 people claiming to be refugees) and 6,886 Bangladeshis registered with the authorities concerned were staying in India.
An online system of filing application for citizenship was introduced in 2011, he said.
He said 2,008 applications were pending at different stages of processing for grant of Indian citizenship.
As regards long term visa, 1,048 applications for grant of visa to Pakistanis were pending at different stages of processing in the home ministry till October.
A total of 911 Pakistanis, 409 Afghans and 107 Bangladeshis were granted Indian citizenship between 2012 and 2014.
The minister said the government had set up a task force in September, headed by the joint secretary (foreigners) with a view to monitor and expedite pending applications of long term visa and citizenship.