Pakistan ‘regrets’ visa refusal to journalists by India

ANKARA

Pakistan on Wednesday voiced disappointment over what it said India’s decision to not issue visas to Pakistani journalists for a meeting on Kartarpur Corridor.

In a Twitter post, Mohammad Faisal, spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Office, said: “Regrettable that India has not given visas to Pakistani journalists for the Kartarpur meeting tomorrow.”

There is no official word from Indian side on the issue yet.

Officials of India and Pakistani will meet in Attari on Indian side of Punjab to discuss draft of the proposed agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor.

Indian officials will pay a follow-up visit to Islamabad on March 28.

"Hope the #PakKartarpurSpirit and meeting tomorrow will bring a change for the better for people of both countries," Faisal said.

Last November, Pakistan performed groundbreaking of Kartarpur Corridor in a ceremony attended by two Indian government cabinet ministers.

Faisal recalled the Pakistani government had allowed more than 30 Indian journalists to cover the Kartarpur groundbreaking ceremony.

“They [Indian journalists] also met PM [prime minister] & were hosted by FM [foreign minister] for a dinner during their stay,” he added.

The corridor will give uninterrupted access to Sikh pilgrims from India to visit their holy site in Pakistan along the international border in Punjab province.

Pakistan had shared its draft of the proposed agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor with India in January and called for initiation of negotiations for its finalization, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

The decision by the Indian government came days after Islamabad said New Delhi did not issue visas to Pakistanis willing to visit the shrine of a Sufi saint in India.

“India has refused visas to Pakistan pilgrims desiring to attend the Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti for second consecutive year,” Sahibzada Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Pakistan’s minister of religious affairs, had said in a statement on March 05.

According to Pakistani daily The Nation, Qadri said that the Indian Embassy in Islamabad informed his ministry through telephone about the refusal of visas.