The increasing number of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, coming on valid visas, go missing in the country setting alarm bells for the security agencies
Shubham Verma
Terrorism has been increasing in the world , particularly with the Islamic state spreading its wings in the Middle East. It is an alarming situation for India because it is one of the largest populated countries and second largest Muslim populated country of the world. The situation gets more grim because the Islamic state has been trying to radicalise Muslim youth.
Why is the situation in India so alarming becomes amply clear with the reply that Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju gave in the Rajya Sabha to a question from Dr Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe.
The questions were (1) How many Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals were issued Visas under various
categories during 2014-15? (2) Whether Government has any record to state as to how many of them have returned to their own countries after the expiry of their Visa, if not, the reasons there for?
The answers have been eye-opener in many ways.
The number of visas issued under various categories to Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals during the years 2014 and 2015 are as follows:
The numbers of Pakistan and Bangladesh nationals who overstayed and later departed during the period 1.1.2014-31.12.2015 are as follows:
The data clearly shows that in 2014-15, 48510 Pakistan’s nationals came to India on visa of which 12,2000 were deported while the rest have been
missing. Similarly, 20870 Bangladesh nationals who came to India on Visa, overstayed in India out of which 8387 were caught and deported while others got absconded. It is an alarming situation for India because 36,310 Pakistanis have entered in India and absconded while 12483 Bangladeshis went missing.
It is so alarming that while our soldiers have been fighting hard on the borders of India to stop Pakistanis and Bangladeshi infiltration, staking their lives, more than 50,000 infiltrators have entered India through Visas and have absconded.
As published in the book ‘Pakistan’s Network of terror in India’ by SK Ghosh, two lakh Pakistani nationals visit India every year. Many among them go
underground and settle down in India unnoticed. In some cases, ISI uses the underground Pakistanis as its agents. The trains coming from Pakistan should be checked thoroughly and there is a need to increase the number and efficiency of customs officers who check the
passengers. Pakistanis’ indulge in
activities that are linked to Pakistan’s game plan of expanding its activities into cities and towns. More and more Pakistanis who initially come to India as bona fide visitors must be eventually signing up with subversive organisations.
The arrest and interrogation of ISI agents from Pakistan operating in different parts of India, over the years, revealed that with the help of fundamentalist Muslim organisations, mushrooming in the country, hundreds of Indian Muslim youth have been recruited, trained in Pakistan, POK, and the neighboring Bangladesh and employed by the ISI for the purpose of spreading terrorism in India. These Indian Muslim youth are mostly from riot-torn areas. They are illiterate, unemployed and come from poor families. Not much is known about the number of such recruits employed as they are street children and live in dark and dingy ghettos.
It is easy for the ISI agents to find shelter in the houses of fundamentalist Muslims in India. In this way, the fundamentalist Muslim organisations are maintained with money provided by the ISI. Madarsas, mushrooming in the country, are not infrequently used as recruiting centre’s for Indian Muslim youth by the ISI. Aalims, Fazils and Maulanas passing out from Madarsas find no employment, and consequently, they end up serving
the cause of fundamentalist Muslim organisations. In recent years, Madarsas have been growing rapidly along the international border districts.
Nearly 3000 madrasas affiliated to country’s largest Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom, Deoband, recently decided to shun any government aid for modernisation and to stay away from modern teaching— “We are not in favour of mixing religious teachings with modern teachings. We are devoted fully to religious teachings. We are for ‘deen ka ilm’ and ‘deen ki hifazat’ (religious teachings and protection of religion).
It is not just the activities of the Pakistani visitors that should be a cause for worry, but the Ministers of Home and External Affairs need to put their heads together on the ease with which the VISA holders manage to give the police a slip.” Both Pakistan and India, grant only city specific visas to each other’s nationals, who are required to report to the Foreigner’s Registration office within 24 hours of their arrival. They also have to inform the authorities of any onward journey to another city 24 hours before the departure. Yet, Pakistani visitors manage to overstay and even go underground.
On December 27, 2015, a Revenue Inspector, identified as Birbal Khan was arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan. Sources said, there was a
possibility of a ‘huge network of
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spies’ working in the country. The youth was taking photographs of the preparations of the Indian Air Force’s soon-to-be-held Iron Fist exercise at the highly sensitive Chandan field firing range in Jaisalmer.
On February 25, 2013, the computer-savvy Sumer Khan was arrested near Pokhran’s Chandan firing range in Jaisalmer for passing on information on the airbase of the Indian Air Force. During interrogation Khan, who had been allegedly passing information to Pakistan for the past three years, disclosed that he was getting
classified documents from Surendra posted with the foreign desk’s dispatch section of the Union home ministry.
There is no doubt that incumbent government has been taking necessary measures to stop infiltration and has been fighting against terrorism but the government should also train the population of border areas to identify and catch infiltrators. Education of local people is of urgent necessity and this must be arranged in every city and town, big and small, throughout the country. Alert intelligence agencies and good intelligence can prevent many deaths. Paksitani and Banglsdeshi intruders must be stopped from entering Indian territory.
(The writer is an independent researcher)
