By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan has expressed disappointment over the non-issuance of visas by India for the visit of the 503 Pakistanis to western Indian town of Ajmer to participate in the Urs of Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti.
“The visit was to take place under the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines and is a regular annual feature,” Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman said.
As a result of this Indian decision, the Pakistani Zaireen have been deprived of the opportunity to participate in the Urs, which is of special significance.
Earlier, 192 Pakistani Zaireen could not participate in the Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia in the Indian capital New Delhi from January 1-8 due to the non-issuance of visas by India.
During 2017, despite Pakistan’s offer to send a special train, Sikh yatrees from India could not attend Martyrdom Anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev and the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Similarly, in February 2018, the Government of Pakistan had made all the arrangements for the visit of 173 Katas Raj Pilgrims, who, regrettably, were forced to withdraw their applications from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi due to non-issuance of necessary clearance by the Ministry of External Affairs of India.
Besides being a violation of the bilateral Protocol of 1974 and the basic human right to religious freedom, such measures also undermine the efforts aimed at improving the environment, increasing people-to-people contacts and normalizing relations between the two countries, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman said.
