272 Pak nationals left India through Attari in past 2 days, more to exit Sunday as deadline ends
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New Delhi (PTI): Around 272 Pakistani nationals have left India in the past two days through the Attari-Wagah border point and a few hundred more are expected to exit on Sunday when the deadline for the 12 categories of short-term visa holders of the neighbouring nation ends, an official said.
As many as 629 Indians, including 13 diplomats and officials, have returned from Pakistan through the international border crossing located in Punjab.
The 'Leave India' notice to the Pakistani nationals was issued by the government after 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.
The deadline for exiting India for those holding SAARC visas was April 26. For those carrying medical visas, the deadline is April 29.
The 12 categories of visas whose holders have to leave India by Sunday are -- visa on arrival, business, film, journalist, transit, conference, mountaineering, student, visitor, group tourist, pilgrim and group pilgrim.
However, those having long-term and diplomatic or official visas were exempted from the 'Leave-India' order.
According to officials, 191 Pakistani nationals left India through the Attari-Wagah border on April 25 and 81 more exited on April 26.
As many as 287 Indians crossed into India from Pakistan On April 25, and altogether 342 Indians, including 13 diplomats and officials, returned from Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border on April 26, officials said.
Some of the Pakistanis might have left India through airports too, they said, pointing out that since India does not have direct air connectivity with Pakistan, they might have left for other countries.
Officials said the highest number of Pakistanis with short-term visas were staying in Maharashtra. Their number was pegged at around 1,000, they said. The state's minister Yogesh Kadam on Saturday said the 1,000 Pakistani nationals with short-term visas have been asked to leave India.
Around 5,050 Pakistani citizens have been living in Maharashtra and most of them are on long-term visas. Of these, around 2,450 were in Nagpur, 1,100 in Thane, 390 in Jalgaon, 290 in Navi Mumbai, 290 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 120 in Amravati and 15 in Mumbai, officials said.
Interestingly, 107 Pakistani nationals, who were staying in Maharashtra were, untraceable, according to officials.
In the southern state of Telangana, police chief Jitender cited official records to say that as many as 208 Pakistani nationals were staying in the state, mostly in Hyderabad. Among them, 156 hold long-term visas, 13 short-term visas and 39 were with the travel document for medical and business purposes.
There were 104 Pakistani nationals in the southern coastal state of Kerala, of whom 99 were on long-term visas. The remaining five, who were on either tourist or medical visas, have left the country.
Central India's Madhya Pradesh had around 228 visiting Pakistani nationals, many of whom have left the country already, officials said. On the other hand, around 12 Pakistanis have been identified in Odisha and all of them have been asked to follow the deadline set for them to leave the country.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said three Pakistani nationals, who were in the state on short-term visas, have been asked to leave.
Seven Pakistanis were in Gujarat on short-term visas -- five in Ahmedabad and one each in Bharuch and Vadodara. They have either left India or are leaving by Sunday, officials said.
Besides, 438 Pakistani nationals are in the western state on long-term visas and they include Hindus who have applied for Indian citizenship.
In the north, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said on Saturday that the process of sending back all categories of Pakistani citizens visiting the state who have been ordered to leave India has been completed. One Pakistani national is still in the state and he will depart for Pakistan on April 30, the DGP said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday called up the chief ministers of all states and asked them to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline set for leaving the country.
After Shah's telephonic conversations with the chief ministers, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan held a video conference with the chief secretaries and asked them to ensure that all Pakistani nationals whose visas were revoked must leave India by the deadline fixed.
The already strained relations between India and Pakistan nosedived further after the Pahalgam terror attack, with New Delhi announcing a raft of retaliatory steps, including the cancellation of visas, and Islamabad hitting back with a string of tit-for-tat measures.
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EC role, Hindu vote consolidation among factors for BJP win in Bengal polls: J-K CM Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday attributed the BJP's West Bengal win to a "significant role" played by the Election Commission (EC), alongside a consolidation of Hindu votes and a fractured minority mandate.
Abdullah also said the INDIA bloc needs to define its role in the political landscape of the country and make it clear whether the opposition alliance was limited to the parliamentary elections or extended to the state elections as well.
Talking to PTI Videos, Abdullah hinted that the EC has compromised its neutrality by conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and linked it to the BJP's gains in the state, claiming large-scale deletion of legitimate voters.
On the performance of the BJP in the just concluded assembly elections, Abdullah said the saffron party has almost nothing to show in southern states.
"So then you look at West Bengal and Assam. Yes, the BJP improved its tally in Assam. There are various reasons for that. You know as well as I do, what those are. West Bengal, I think we need to look at the results very carefully," he said.
"The easiest explanation for the West Bengal result is the serious curtailing of voter list," Abdullah said.
"Voters found their names deleted. People who served in uniform and fought for this country on the borders, who were considered Indian citizens all their lives, were suddenly held to a higher standard and not allowed to vote. Something is not right," he said.
While alleging that the EC played a "significant part" in the results, the chief minister admitted the outcome was multifaceted and noted a consolidation of over 60 per cent of the Hindu vote towards the BJP and a "significant fracture" in the minority vote, particularly in seats where Muslims constitute over 50 per cent of the population.
"There is no doubt that the role of the Election Commission played a significant part in the results but we will also have to look at the other factors," he said.
He said the results of West Bengal cannot be compared to those in other states. "The situation was unique to West Bengal. The SIR that was done, the way in which the voter lists were changed, the sort of minute scrutiny that the Election Commission subjected West Bengal to, the role of the central investigative agencies.
"All of these are situations that at least in recent electoral history of India are unique to West Bengal. So to suggest that we can learn lessons from West Bengal and implement them in other parts of the country, I think would not be correct," he said.
Abdullah had recently said that if the West Bengal results throw a surprise, the role of EC will come under scrutiny.
However, during Tuesday's interview, the chief minister said he still maintains that electronic voting machines (EVMs) do not lead to vote theft.
"What we saw in West Bengal...I know there are a lot of people who believe that the EVMs themselves are flawed. I am not a proponent of that conspiracy theory.
"But I do believe that the Election Commission has done itself no favours in the way in which it has gone about both the process of delimitation and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls," he said and cited the example of delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir or Assam.
"These are clear examples of how the process was done to benefit one party or in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, one party and its allies. And the results speak for themselves. You created seven new seats in Jammu and Kashmir and out of those six seats were won by the BJP. You redrew assembly constituencies to benefit one particular party or its allies. And the same is true for West Bengal as well," he said.
Referring to the INIDA bloc, he said the election results were no new message for the alliance.
"We need to decide what the INDIA bloc is for. Is it only for Parliament or for state elections as well?" he asked.
"What happened in West Bengal is unfortunate. The Congress and TMC fought against each other. Now the Congress agrees with Mamata Banerjee that 100 seats were stolen, but the fact is they fought each other," he said.
Despite the friction, Abdullah reaffirmed the "pre-eminent position" of the Congress within the opposition alliance, dismissing the idea of any other party assuming the mantle.
"The Congress is the only party other than the BJP with a pan-India presence. All of us acknowledge this," he stated.
"To suggest someone else can assume a leadership role would be incorrect. Kharge Sahib is the president of the Congress, and by virtue of that, he assumes leadership of the INDIA bloc meetings. That is the way it should be," the chief minister said.
Abdullah said any 'Common Minimum Programme' would depend on whether the opposition alliance decides to fight state assembly elections collectively, noting that he would share his specific views with the bloc internally rather than through the media.
