NEW DELHI, Jan 27: Some 9,035 Pakistani nationals were found to be staying in India even after their visas had expired in July last year and 2,299 of them could not be traced, a federal minister said on Sunday.

Minister of state for home, Vidyasagar Rao, said the federal government has asked the states to trace and deport Pakistani nationals who went underground after expiry of visas.

Talking to reporters in the southern Indian city of Thiruvananthapuram, Rao said this was a serious matter in the present security situation of increased tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.

But with regard to Pakistanis married to Indian women, the government was taking a sympathetic attitude and was considering extending their visas. “We cannot suspect all the people,” Rao said.

After the Sept 11 terror attacks in the United States, the government wanted to be strict towards certain categories of foreign nationals who overstay and disappear.—dpa