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NEW DELHI, Jan 7 (AFP) - Indian Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani Tuesday said some 11,500 Pakistanis living illegally in India should be thrown out.

"There is no reason why our state should be soft towards them. Immediate steps should be taken to identify them, locate them and to throw them out," Advani said at an Internal Security Conference in the capital.

Advani, who is also home minister, said security agencies should investigate whether there were links between "terrorists" and Pakistanis living without visas in India.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of sponsoring attacks in Indian territory, particularly in divided and bitterly disputed Kashmir, India's sole Muslim-majority state.

India says Pakistan funnels rebels across the de facto border in Kashmir to join the 13-year insurgency against Indian rule in the province. Islamabad denies the charge.

Advani also called illegal immigration from Bangladesh a serious problem that needed to be "tackled firmly" by state governments.

Last month, India announced a drive to deport Pakistanis residing illegally in India.

C. Vidyasagar Rao, the state minister for home affairs, said 8,884 of more than 11,000 Pakistanis in the country illegally had overstayed their visas. The rest had gone underground.

Rao also said India had stepped up screening of Pakistanis wanting to travel to the country and would consider withdrawing certain "unilateral concessions" to Pakistani travellers.

One proposal under consideration was to stop granting visas to cultural and literary personalities. 

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