India refuses to issue visas to Pakistanis to attend Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti

ISLAMABAD: The Indian Embassy on Wednesday declined to issue visas to Pakistani pilgrims at the 11th hour for attending the annual Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti (Khawaja Gharib Nawaz) from February 3 to 14 in Ajmer Sharif.

Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Pir Noorul Haq Qadri, in a statement, expressed his dismay over the non-issuance of visas to the religious tourists, which was beyond his comprehension.

The Indian Embassy, he said, had asked the ministry to complete all the arrangements for the departure of pilgrims for Urs following all the standard operating procedures issued by it.

The pilgrims belonging to far-flung areas of the country had arrived in Lahore. However, the last moment refusal for issuance of visas had hurt their sentiments, leaving them in mental stress, he added.

Read more: Pakistan issues visa allowing Indian man to meet his family separated 74 years ago

India had violated the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines on the pretext of coronavirus pandemic. On the contrary, he said, Pakistan had always facilitated Hindu and Sikh pilgrims from India to visit their sacred sites to promote interfaith harmony.

Amid the prevailing COVID-19, it issued visas to both, Hindu and Sikh pilgrims, during the last two years.

Last month, Pakistan High Commission in India had issued a visa to an Indian citizen allowing him to meet his family members in Pakistan who had been separated 74 years ago due to the partition.