ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a strong protest over denial of visas to 500 ‘zaireen’ for the Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer.
In a statement, the Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said that said the visits to religious shrines in Pakistan and India are governed under the Bilateral Protocol of 1974 on visits to the Religious Shrines.
The spokesperson said that the foreign office conveyed its deep disappointment and concern over the denial of visas by the Indian government to zaireen.
This is the fourth time that visas have been denied to Pakistani pilgrims in the last one year, Aslam said. She said that this is not only against the bilateral agreement, but also runs contrary to the efforts towards normalizing relations between the two countries and the spirit of people-to-people contacts.
