Process to Identify Pak Nationals on: Minister

The Karnataka government has started the process of identifying Pakistani nationals who are illegally residing in the state, and inform the Union home ministry about it, state home minister G Parameshwara said on Friday.

- Coovercolly Indresh

BENGALURU:

"The central government has instructed Pakistani nationals to leave India following the Pahalgam terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. Action will be taken against Pakistani nationals if they are illegally residing in the state. The work of detecting sleeper cells is also underway. If sleeper cells are found, we will inform the NIA (National Investigation Agency),"" he said.

The development took place after Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday called up the chief ministers of states and asked them to ensure that no Pakistani stays in India beyond the deadline set for leaving the country. India on Thursday announced revoking all visas issued to Pakistani nationals from April 27 and advised Indian nationals residing in Pakistan to return home at the earliest, as tensions between the two countries escalated over the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists, on Tuesday.

Speaking to media on Friday, Parameshwara said, "The central government has taken this decision in the interest of national security."