Urs of Moinuddin Chishti: Non-issuance of visas to 503 Pak zaireen criticised

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday expressed deep disappointment over the non-issuance of visas by India for the visit of the 503 Pakistani Zaireen to participate in the Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti (RA) at Ajmer Sharif in the end of March.

The visit was to take place under the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines and is a regular annual feature, but Pakistani Zaireen have been deprived of the opportunity to participate in the Urs, which is of special significance, said a statement issued here by the Foreign Office. Earlier in January, Pakistani Zaireen could not participate in the Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia (RA) in Delhi due to the non-issuance of visas by India. During 2017, despite Pakistan’s offer to send a special train, Indian delay resulted in Sikh Yatrees (pilgrims) from India being unable to participate in the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev and the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Similarly, in February, the Government of Pakistan had made all the arrangements for the visit of 173 Katas Raj pilgrims, who 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 violative 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 normalising relations between the two countries, it said.