Pakistan would consider a visa for Bhagwant Mann, chief minister of India’s Punjab state, for a possible Lahore trip, while India would separately decide whether he may travel, the Foreign Office said Friday, Nov. 6.
At the briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said the government would consider issuing a visa if Mann chose to visit Pakistan. Khan said whether the Government of India would allow Mann to travel was a separate matter. His remarks described consideration of a visa, not a decision to issue one.
Mann told the Punjab Assembly he had an invitation to attend a Lahore gathering on Nov. 27, which he called the World Punjabi Conference. The organizer lists a Lahore event for Nov. 27-29 under the name 4th International Punjabi Conference, at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art & Culture. The two names have not been confirmed as referring to the same event.
Mann’s Assembly remarks also raised a possible visit to Kartarpur Sahib by Punjab legislators if corridor services resumed. India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says Kartarpur Corridor services are suspended until further directions; its current page gives no date for restarting them.
The Pakistan Foreign Office briefing also discussed the 1974 arrangements for visits to religious shrines, while addressing Mann’s possible visa separately. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) says a 2019 agreement provides year-round, visa-free visits to Kartarpur Sahib for Indian pilgrims and Overseas Citizen of India cardholders. The organizer’s listed conference is scheduled to begin Nov. 27.
