Minority communities in Pakistan staying in India for Long Term Visa (LTV) may soon receive permission to open bank accounts, obtain a driver’s license, PAN card and Aadhaar Card, or even start a new business. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been actively working to grant citizenship to the Hindus who fled from Pakistan after facing severe atrocities.
Seeking to ease the pain of the Pakistani Hindus, the Narendra Modi government has simplified the procedure of granting Indian citizenship, along with reducing the registration fee to just Rs 100. The notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs reads,
“Reduction of fees for registration as the citizen of India for nationals of Pakistan belonging to minority communities from the existing level ranging from Rs. 5000 (under registration) to Rs.15,000 (under naturalization), to a uniform fee of Rs.100/- each at the time of application and at the time of grant of the certificate of registration/ naturalization.”
The Ministry has invited comments/ suggestions on the proposed measures by 18th April. You can send in your suggestions via:
- Post – To Under Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs, NDCC-II Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi – 110001
- Fax – 011-23438040
- Email – dirf-mha@nic.in, schand.s@nic.in
The MHA has proposed to delegate the powers to the Collectors or the District Magistrates of the following Districts for a period of two years for registration of Pakistani nations.
The government has also proposed to waive off any penalty on the timely extension of short-term visa/ LTV by the Pakistani Hindus. Additionally, removing all restrictions on their movements is also under consideration.
This is another one of the many remarkable steps taken by Narendra Modi to help the minorities Hindus and is one of the poll planks on which he won the last general election.