China needs to give uniform visas to all Indians: India

India tonight asked China to have uniform policy on issuing the travel documents "regardless of ethnicity or place of domicile" of the applicant.

With China remaining adamant on issuing stapled visas to people from Jammu and Kashmir,India tonight asked it to have uniform policy on issuing the travel documents “regardless of ethnicity or place of domicile” of the applicant.

“Our position is very well articulated and it has been conveyed in unambiguous terms to the Chinese friends,” sources said here about the issue which is expected to come up for discussion when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets Premier Wen Jiabao in Hanoi on Friday.

“The State of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. We expect issuance of visas (by China) to be uniform regardless of ethnicity or place of domicile of the applicant,” they said.

The reaction came hours after Chinese Foreign Ministry said that its policy on stapled visas for Jammu and Kashmir residents remains unchanged.

The practice of issuing stapled visas,which amounts to questioning Jammu and Kashmir’s accession with India,was started by China about two years ago.

While India has been asking China to desist from issuing stapled visas and stopping travellers with such visas,the practice continues.

The issue snowballed into a major controversy when China gave a stapled visa to Northern Army Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal in July. India reacted angrily and suspended high-level defence exchanges,as part of which Lt Gen Jaswal was travelling to Beijing.

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