5,223 Pakistani, 1,481 Afghan nationals given citizenship since 2003 in India

As many as 5,223 Pakistani and 1,481 Afghan nationals have been granted Indian citizenship since 2003 to November this year, Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. 

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju in a written reply said as on date, as per data available online, 672 applications from Afghanistan nationals and 1,114 from Pakistani nationals were pending at different stage of processing for grant of Indian citizenship.

"Considering the difficulties being faced by such Persons of Indian Origin, a Special Task Force has been formed in September 2014 to facilitate Pakistani and Afghani nationals for registering themselves as Indian citizens. The process for online application has also been relaxed for these migrants," he said.