Two guarantors mandatory for Pak national visiting Mumbai

Though the media report of 26 Pakistani nationals going missing in Mumbai turned out to be wrong, intelligence agencies have taken that news piece as a “mock drill”. Mumbai police, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Special Branch 1 and other law enforcement agencies have thoroughly checked and verified documents of Pakistani nationals who visited Maharashtra, said a senior government officer requesting anonymity.

It is not possible for any Pakistani national to go missing in Mumbai provided they have entered the city following due procedure, an official told the Free Press Journal.

“They have to submit the details of at least ‘two known persons’ staying in the state before applying for visa. Their visa gets cleared only after local police gives clearance after contacting those ‘two persons’ who become their guarantors in the state,” the official said.

Many Pakistani nationals visit Mumbai. Some of them come to meet their relatives, some fly to Mumbai for medical reasons. “If they are in Mumbai for medical treatment and the doctors have suggested them to visit cities like Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Kolkata, then the visiting Pakistani national will have to seek permission from the concerned cell of Special Branch one. “The Pakistani national will have to seek visa extension from the concerned department of Indian government,” said the officer.

Though every such Pakistani national is under close surveillance of law enforcement agencies of Government of India, in case they go missing the agencies immediately contact the guarantors to know their whereabouts, the officer added.

Few Pakistani nationals visit Mumbai to attend their family functions, cultural programmes, shooting for their movies or songs etc. Such Pakistani nationals are given short-term visas.

There are around 200 Pakistani nationals staying across Maharashtra and most are women who have got married to Indian nationals. Such Pakistani women get long-term visas which need to be extended time to time.

India’s central agencies have been vigilant since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. The security agencies keep the record of hotel, guest house, dharmashala, individual house, university, hospital, institute where Pakistani nationals reside during their stay in India.