New Delhi fails to issue visas to 192 pilgri­ms who were visiti­ng the Indian capita­l in Januar­y next yearISLAMABAD: Due to non-issuance of visas by India, Pakistani pilgrims will not be able to participate in the urs of Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia this year. Squatters barrier to protecting Delhi’s ancient monumentsIn a statement released by the Foreign Office on Saturday, Islamabad regretted the last minute postponement and non-issuance of visas by New Delhi, for the visit of some 192 Pakistani pilgrims to the Indian capital from January 1-8 next year. The visit was to take place under the provisions of the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines and is a regular, annual feature, said the FO statement. “As a result of this Indian decision, Pakistani pilgrims will be deprived of the opportunity to participate in the urs, which is of special significance,” said the statement. It is ironic that this was done on the occasion of urs of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya who was a symbol of bringing communities closer to each other,” concluded the FO in its statement.

Source: The Express Tribune December 30, 2017 07:07 UTC