Pak. harasses visa applicants: India

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 24. India today accused the Pakistani intelligence and police agencies of subjecting visa applicants who assemble before the visa gate of the Indian High Commission to ``undue harassment'' and urged the military government to intervene so as to ensure that such incidents did not recur.

The Deputy High Commissioner of the Indian High Commission, Mr. Sudhir Vyas, today went over to the Pakistan Foreign Office and handed over a ``aide memoire'' detailing incidents of harassment and humiliation being meted out to the visa applicants by the Pakistani intelligence and police agencies.

Sources in the Indian High Commission said that the mission decided to take up the matter with the Foreign Office after the visa section reported a noticeable increase in incidents of harassment and humiliation to Pakistani citizens applying for Indian citizenship.

``As it is, there is a considerable presence of Pakistani intelligence personnel outside the gates of the Indian mission and the citizens who come to apply for Indian visas are subjected to harassment. We have noticed blatant and brazen display of muscle power by these personnel in the last three weeks and so we decided to take up the issue formally with the Foreign Office,'' a senior diplomat in the Indian mission said.

In his note to the Foreign Office, the Indian Deputy High Commissioner said that officials of the Indian mission had observed ordinary Pakistani citizens applying for visas being subjected to personal searches and rigorous questioning by groups of persons in plain clothes who station themselves immediately in front of the visa gate.

It said aggressive searches and questioning were also undertaken by uniformed police personnel as well as personnel of the Frontier Constabulary. The complaint said the harassment had been resulting in delays in the processing of visas.

The complainants were not being permitted to approach the visa counters for several hours.

Mr. Vyas has complained that all this was clearly due to the deliberate actions of local intelligence and security functionaries outside the mission. He told the Foreign Office that there had been several instances where the agencies had attempted to unduly restrict access to the High Commission.

Visa applicants and other visitors who have fixed prior appointments at the mission have been turned back by the intelligence personnel. It is alleged that some have been manhandled in full view of the High Commission staff.

He told the Foreign Office that on August 22, a Pakistani national wishing to come to the Embassy to pick up passports that had been deposited, was beaten up and taken away in a vehicle by intelligence personnel in plain clothes. Mr. Vyas said such behaviour on the part of the Pakistan authorities was unacceptable and the Indian Government had taken a serious note of the incidents.

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Section  : International
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