809 Pakistani nationals acquired Indian citizenship last year: MHA

A total of 809 Pakistani nationals acquired Indian citizenship out of 939 foreigners according to the data shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs. MHA said that 15,012 Bangladeshi and 2,668 Pakistani citizens were granted Indian citizenship in the last five years.

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday said that out of 939 foreigners from 56 countries at least 809 Pakistani nationals acquired Indian citizenship last year. The information provided by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai showed that since 2015, 15,012 Bangladeshi and 2,668 Pakistani citizens were granted Indian citizenship in last five years.

MHA said, "18,855 foreigners, including 15,012 Bangladeshis, 2668 Pakistanis and 665 Afghanistan nationals, were granted Indian citizenship between 2015 & 2019.

However, these numbers also included 14,864 Bangladeshi nationals who were granted Indian Citizenship after the signing of Indo-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement in 2015. According to the data, 263 Pakistani nationals acquired Indian citizenship in 2015; 670 in 2016; 476 in 2017; 450 in 2018 and 805 in 2019.

The Centre informed the Parliament that between 2015 to 2019, a total of 18,855 foreigners acquired Indian citizenship that included 15,012 Bangladeshis, 2,668 Pakistanis, 665 Afghanis, 109 Sri Lankans, 105 Americans and 40 Nepalese.

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Talking about 'doubtful voters’ in Assam, the ministry said, "Assam has informed that pending cases of ‘doubtful voters’ in Assam in foreign tribunals are 83,008 and number of people declared as foreigners in Assam from the year 2015 to 30.06.2020 are 86,756. CRPF has best Covid-19 recovery rate among Central forces and Assam Rifles lowest. ITBP has the lowest death rate of 0.21% and CISF highest.

"No proposal with Government of India to abolish the Inner Line Permit system. ILP system came into existence in 1873 with the promulgation of Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation. Presently, it exists in Arunachal, Manipur, Mizoram and parts of Nagaland," it added.