25-04-2025
33 of them left in last three days, 389 Pakistan nationals on short-term visas yet to leave Ahmedabad
At least 389 people from Pakistan visiting Ahmedabad city on a Short Term Visa (STV) are required to cross over the international border by April 27 or 29, depending on whether they had come on a visitor's visa or a medical visa.
This comes as part of the Centre's first round of diplomatic actions taken against Pakistan in light of Tuesday's terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which took the lives of 26 people, including three residents of Gujarat.
Police said that in the last three days, 33 people with STVs have returned to Pakistan.
There are broadly three categories of Indian visas issued to Pakistan nationals: SAARC visa, Long Term Visa (LTV) and STVs.
A statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday stated, 'In continuation of the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Security in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Government of India has decided to suspend visa services to Pakistani nationals with immediate effect.'
On the decision, it stated, 'All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from 27 April 2025. Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till 29 April 2025.'
A further clarification on the validity of LTV said, 'It is hereby clarified that the revocation of visas specified in the above decision does not apply to the Long Term Visas (LTVs) already issued to Hindu Pakistani nationals, which remain valid.'
Additional Commissioner of Police ( Ahmedabad City, Vidhi Chaudhary said, 'In the last three days alone, 33 people with STVs have returned to Pakistan, leaving a total of 389 such people in the city as of April 25. Of these, five are from the religious majority community in Pakistan while 384 are from its religious minorities.'
Notably, there are in excess of 4,000 Pakistan nationals in Ahmedabad city on LTVs. But no call has been taken on their status at the moment. There is also nobody on a SAARC visa in Ahmedabad city.
In Rajkot city, DCP Parthrajsinh Gohil said that while there is nobody on a SAARC visa, there is only one person on STV who is from a religious minority in Pakistan. He is headed for the UK in the next couple of days. There are 752 Pakistan nationals on LTV in Rajkot city.
Meanwhile, police officials in Surat City and Vadodara city, speaking only about the religious majority community of Pakistan, said there were no such foreigners on STVs there. They did not share information about the number of Pakistan nationals with STVs who were still in these major cities.
In the Panchmahal district, where the local courts see a high volume of cases of Pakistan nationals overstaying their STVs, police officials stated that no one of the neighbouring country's religious majority was in the district at present.
Meanwhile, speaking on foreigners of the majority religion in Pakistan currently in Gujarat on STVs, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi told The Indian Express, 'Acting on the guidelines of the Government of India, we have identified seven Pakistan nationals who are in Gujarat on STV. We have started the procedure of sending them back to their country. Today, a woman had been deported to Pakistan from Gujarat and we came to know that she had reached her country. We are making attempts to send the remaining to Pakistan in the next few days.'
The woman had come to Gujarat's Bharuch earlier this month.
