The Quiet Infiltration: Pakistani Nationals and Their Progeny, a Looming National Security Threat

The gruesome terrorist attack at Baisaran, Pehalgam, which claimed the lives of 25 innocent Hindu pilgrims and a local Kashmiri, has once again exposed the deep-rooted and systematic threat posed by Pakistan-backed terrorism in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. In the wake of this inhuman carnage, the Government of India has rightly acted with urgency by directing a nationwide verification and deportation drive of Pakistani nationals overstaying their visas or residing illegally.

- DEEPAK SHARMA

However, this drive has unearthed a far more alarming issue, the quiet, sustained presence of a significant number of Pakistani nationals, especially in Jammu & Kashmir, some of whom have alarmingly succeeded in infiltrating the very fabric of our civil and security institutions.

Pakistani Nationals Residing in J&K: A Trojan Horse?

In the course of the ongoing verification exercise, it has been revealed that several Pakistani nationals are residing in Jammu & Kashmir, some under expired visas, others having entered on student or spousal visas. Reports have emerged of Pakistani women who entered India often on long-term visas (LTVs) for marriage purposes and now living permanently in Jammu & Kashmir, having married Indian citizens and given birth to children on Indian soil. While on the surface, this appears to be a matter of personal liberty and matrimonial union, it cannot be ignored that these arrangements may be exploited as covert tools for long-term strategic infiltration.

Equally disturbing are revelations that some Pakistani nationals residing in J&K have acquired Indian identity documents such as Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and even Voter ID cards. Several have allegedly participated in democratic processes, voted in elections, and availed public benefits meant exclusively for Indian citizens. More alarmingly, credible inputs have surfaced showing that a few such individuals have secured employment in sensitive sectors, including police forces and the spouse of one such is in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who amidst this upsurge has recently been sacked from services for harbouring a Pakistani national thereby compromising with the security of the State.