Pakistan denied visa to yoga practitioner

New Delhi: Before the International Yoga Day recently, Pakistan had denied visas to an Indian yoga practitioner who was going to Islamabad to participate in the celebrations at the Indian High Commission there. A news agency quoted Pakistani officials as saying they had recently issued several assignment visas to Indian officials, but none were issued by India.

“It is, unfortunately, the Indian side which links issuance of visas to everything else. Pakistan has recently issued several assignment visas to Indian officials, but none were issued by India. Visas to our diplomats and officials, including air and naval attaches, are stuck with India now for many months,” a Pakistani source in New Delhi was quoted as saying. The reports further quoted Pakistani sources saying that India “continues to link all other administrative aspects to the visa issue, which is indeed regrettable and is lately behaving in most uncooperative way”.

MEA sources in New Delhi, however, rubbished the Pakistani argument on Friday. On Thursday, in the wake of the unprovoked firing by Pakistani troops on the border in Jammu and Kashmir, India had issued a stern warning to its neighbour that “there should be no doubt that any unprovoked firing from the Pakistani side would meet with an effective and forceful responses from forces.”