India refuses visas to Pakistanis for Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin in Ajmer Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri on Tuesday said that India has refused to issue visas to Pakistanis for attending the Urs of Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti ─ also known as ‘Gharib Nawaz’─ at Dargah Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan.

According to the minister, 500 Pakistanis were to leave for India on March 7.

“India’s extremist face has been revealed again,” Qadri said adding, “India is held hostage by religious extremists.”

It has been two years that Pakistanis had been deprived attendance to the Urs, the minister resented.

Qadri said, the Indian embassy, in a phone call, had informed of the cancellation of the visa applications for the visitors, after which the ministry had informed the citizens via SMS.

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He recalled that in 2018, during the Urs of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, only 190 of 400 visa requests were approved. While, “in one year, Pakistan issued visas for 5,600 Sikh yatris as well 312 Hindu yatris” for their religious events, the minister said.

Yesterday, a group of around 96 Sikh pilgrims from India reached Pakistan via Wagah border to attend their religious ceremonies.

Moreover, the government of Pakistan has also accorded an approval to Sikh pilgrims from India for their visit to the country and approved the schedule of Baisakhi festival 2019 due in April.