JAMMU, OCT 6: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jammu and Kashmir has called for an accelerated, comprehensive exercise to identify, verify and deport foreign nationals found to be residing in the Union Territory without valid documents, citing security concerns associated with illegal entry, fraudulent documentation and networks facilitating unauthorised settlement.
BJP J&K spokesperson and former MLC Girdhari Lal Raina welcomed the ongoing action against alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, including the shifting of the first batch of 150 persons from Srinagar to Bagdogra in a special Indian Air Force aircraft for onward repatriation. Officials have said another batch of 150 is scheduled to be shifted on October 7, while a survey conducted with police assistance identified around 600 Bangladeshi nationals allegedly staying illegally in the Kashmir Valley.
Raina said the exercise should be pursued with greater urgency and that cases established after due verification should be processed without avoidable delay. He stressed that the issue should be addressed not only through identification of undocumented foreign nationals but also through investigation into the mechanisms that may facilitate illegal entry, fraudulent documentation and unauthorised settlement.
The BJP leader referred to the High-Level Committee on Demographic Change (HLCDC) constituted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in May to examine demographic changes linked to illegal immigration and other factors, particularly in border areas. The committee has sought data from states and Union Territories to assess demographic trends and recommend appropriate policy, legislative and administrative measures.
Raina said security agencies and the administration must give particular attention to cases involving allegedly forged identity documents, unauthorised settlement and organised facilitation. He called for investigation into the role of agents, middlemen, landlords and other facilitators wherever their involvement in illegal entry, shelter, trafficking or procurement of fraudulent documents is established.
“Illegal immigration in Jammu Kashmir cannot be treated merely as an administrative issue. In a sensitive border Union Territory, illegal settlement, forged identity documents and organised facilitation can have serious security and demographic implications,” Raina said.
He further demanded that any suspected financial links involving hawala transactions, foreign funding, organised crime or terror networks be examined by the competent agencies wherever evidence warrants such investigation. At the same time, he emphasised that nationality and legal status must be established through proper verification and that deportation proceedings should strictly follow the applicable legal procedures.
Recent reporting indicates that authorities have identified hundreds of Bangladeshi nationals for deportation, while official figures cited in reports to the HLCDC have also included undocumented foreign nationals from Myanmar. The identification and repatriation exercise is therefore emerging as a broader security and immigration-management issue requiring coordination among the administration, police, intelligence agencies, immigration authorities and border forces.
Raina said the BJP favours a time-bound and legally compliant verification and deportation mechanism, coupled with stringent action against those facilitating illegal immigration. He maintained that dismantling the support network behind unauthorised settlement is essential to ensuring that enforcement action addresses the wider ecosystem rather than remaining confined to the identification and removal of individual foreign nationals.
