India Asks Pakistanis On SAARC Visa To Leave Within 48 Hours — Know What The Exemption Scheme Is
The directive announced after a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting on Wednesday, mandates all Pakistani nationals currently in India under the SVES scheme to leave the country within 48 hours.
India on Wednesday downgraded its diplomatic ties with Pakistan, announcing a slew of measures, including a decision to stop Pakistani citizens from visiting India under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES).
The directive, which was announced after a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting on Wednesday, also mandates that any Pakistani nationals currently in India under this scheme must leave the country within 48 hours.
The announcement was made by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at a late evening media briefing as part of the government's five retaliatory measures in view of the cross-border links to the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, mostly tourists.
The government has vowed to take stringent measures against cross-border terrorism, and stressed that the perpetrators of the attack will be brought to justice and their sponsors held to account.
The other measures announced by India include expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, reducing strength of Pakistani and Indian high commissions, suspension of the over six-decade-old Indus Water Treaty, withdrawl of defence, navy, and air advisors from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, and an immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.
What Is The SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme?
Established in 1992, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES), was designed to allow certain people from SAARC member countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to travel within the region without requiring a visa.
The goal of the initiative, which emerged from SAARC Summit in Islamabad in 1988, was to promote regional integration, cooperation, and people-to-people contact across South Asia.
However, general public is not eligible for this exemption. It is limited to individuals falling in 24 specific categories such as government officials, businesspersons, journalists, parliamentarians, senior professionals, sports persons, and SAARC secretariat staff.
A special visa exemption sticker is issued to qualified individuals. The stickers are placed on their passports, allowing multiple entries and stays within other SAARC member states without a visa, for a specified duration. These stickers are valid for one year.
Citizens of SAARC countries are eligible for a business visa to India for a period of up to five years or less, based on certain requirements. However, this does not apply to nationals of Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan.
Citizens of Bhutan and Nepal did not require a visa to visit India. Only certain Pakistani nationals were eligible for a multiple-entry business visa, which could be valid for one year and restricted to 10 places within India.
These instructions were revised on July 7, 2015, allowing a multiple-entry business visa for up to three years for special category Pakistani businessmen with verified financial standing and business credentials, restricted to 15 designated places in India. Sri Lankan nationals were eligible for the e-Tourist Visa facility.
Ever since, people-to-people exchanges have been occasionally allowed under special arrangements despite tensions.
The Kartarpur Sahib Corridor was opened in November 2019 even after the Pulwama attack of February, allowing Indian Sikh pilgrims were allowed to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Pakistan without requiring a visa. But, with the CCS announcement on Wednesday the 2015 exemption order stands officially suspended, making it unlikely that the special arrangements will continue in near future.
Top Headlines
