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| India bars China travel on stapled visas | | |
ABID SHAH
NEW DELHI, NOV 12: The impossibility for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir to visit Beijing or other Chinese cities turned out to be complete today. The External Affairs Ministry issued a public advisory here this evening to all citizens against travelling to China in case the visa issued by Chinese Embassy and its two Consulates in India was not affixed on their passport and instead the Chinese mission issued this on a separate sheet of paper.
For past over a month or even since before that but not always, this has exactly been the case vis-à-vis Indian citizen from Jammu and Kashmir seeking Chinese visa. Earlier, China followed a similar practise for visa applicants from Arunachal Pradesh alone on the pretext of parts of Arunachal territory bordering China having been “disputed” for long.
The discrepancy regarding visa applicants from Jammu and Kashmir for visiting China was taken up by the External Affairs Ministry with Chinese officials since October 1, but the Chinese response has been that of evading the issue without any convincing justification for issuing visa to residents of Jammu and Kashmir on a sheet of paper meant to accompany the passport.
The issue assumed serious concern when certain academics and students from J&K were declined immigration clearance for travel to China by Indian authorities because of their visa being separate from their passport on a mere sheet of paper. When China did not relent in response to India’s discomfiture and protests in this regard, authorities here were left with little option but to advise its citizens to insist their visa to be stamped on passport whenever they seek this from Chinese mission in Delhi, or its two consulates at Mumbai and Kolkata, in order to travel to China.
The Ministry of External Affairs issued a Press release here on Thursday in more certain terms than ever before in this regard. The release says, “It has come to the notice that the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in New Delhi and the Chinese Consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata are issuing visas on separate piece of paper stapled to the passport (rather than pasted as is the usual practise) to certain categories of Indian nationals on the basis of their domicile, ethnicity and or place of issue of the passport. Such paper visas stapled to the passport are not considered valid for travel out of the country.
“All Indian citizens intending to travel to China are advised that before making any travel arrangements, they should first ascertain from the Chinese Embassy or Consulates, as the case may be, whether the visa being issued to them will be affixed to the passport or will be in the nature of stapled paper visa, so that they are not inconvenienced or put to any financial loss later on this count.”
Through such a move China poses security related concerns for New Delhi besides assuming a more pro-Pakistan stance vis-à-vis Kashmir that Islamabad calls as a part of its dispute with India. Yet, those from Jammu and Kashmir who have been stopped from visiting China during past few months, today’s developments almost end the prospects of their visit in near future.
Chinese response to New Delhi’s today’s move is yet not known but this has come when China has been protesting over the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s current visit to Tawang and other parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
Whatever may the Chinese higher ups say about the visa issue, the fact is that quite a few students from Jammu and Kashmir whether intending to or already studying in China find themselves caught in a diplomatic crossfire that has been set off between China and India because of the new Chinese visa policy.
So has been the case with a Kashmir University professor and another medical expert from the Valley. Professor Shakeel Ahmad Romshoo was turned back home by immigration authorities at Delhi airport on November 1 because his visa showed Chinese mission’s ‘ingenuity’. He had to visit Wuhan in China to receive an international award for his study on Himalayan lakes.
Similar has been the fate of reputed Urologist, Dr Saleem Wani’s efforts to visit Shanghai. But when the visa row between India and China was noticed earlier, visitors like the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president, Professor Saifuddin Soz had recalled that a few years ago he had visited China and the Chinese Embassy did not resort to issue visa on a separate piece of paper. It was properly pasted, stamped and affixed as per Professor Soz.
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