Modi govt hindering religious tourism on both sides of border

Refusing visas to Muslim pilgrims from Pakistan has become the go-to strategy

LAHORE:

The distrust between Pakistan and neighbouring India due to the tense diplomatic relations has negatively impacted religious tourists hopeful of getting visas to visit holy sites in India.

Even though Pakistan has regularly been issuing visas to Sikh and Hindu pilgrims to visit their religious sites in the country, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has not extended the same courtesy to Pakistani tourists.

Given the recent remarks of BJP Member of Parliament (MP) Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma’s comments of a total boycott of Muslims in a public rally, the Indian government creating hurdles for Muslim pilgrims does not come as a surprise to tourists.

“My visa application to attend the Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti has been rejected 8 times now,” informed Malik Yousaf Sikandar, a resident of Lahore, who has been unsuccessfully trying to go to the event with some friends for years.

“Our government keeps issuing visas to thousands of Indian pilgrims but the BJP government cannot even issue a few hundred visas,” Sikandar remarked, adding that the Indian side collects millions of rupees in non-refundable application fees every year just to reject applications.

Sikandar’s views hold weight as a delegation of Sikhs from India is expected to visit Pakistan this month to participate in a ceremony organised to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Hasan Abdal tragedy, while in November, about 3,000 Sikh pilgrims are expected to reach Pakistan to participate in the birthday celebrations of Baba Guru Nanak.

On the other hand, not only did India refuse visas for devotees hoping to attend the Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti back in February, it also rejected Pakistani national’s visas last month, in September, for the Urs of Hazrat Mujaddid Alif Sani.

However, the Sikh community on both sides of the border contests that the Indian government does not even allow its own citizens to participate in any important religious ceremony apart from those agreed upon in the 1971 India-Pakistan Religious Pilgrimage Agreement.

Sardar Amir Singh, Head of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, said, “Indian Sikhs should be allowed to participate in other festivals held in Pakistan like the Baba Guru Nanak's death anniversary, Guru Ram Das Ji's birth anniversary and Panja Sahib Tragedy celebrations.”

He feels that these three events and others should also be included in the religious pilgrimage agreement between the two countries.

Pradhan Advocate Sardar Harjinder Singh Dhami, of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the largest representative of Sikhs in India, agreeing with Sardar Amir’s views, said that his organisation would advocate for Pakistani pilgrims.

“We will put forth the demand of issuing more visas to religious tourists from Pakistan in front of our government,” Sardar Harjinder assured.

The Chairman of Pakistan Evacuee Properties Trust Board, Habib-Ur-Rehman Gillani, was of the view that such demands might not be misplaced given how Pakistan always welcomes Indian citizens.

“India should stop creating obstacles in providing visas to our pilgrims and should not create hindrances for pilgrims from their own country trying to visit Pakistan,” Gillani said while talking to the Express Tribune.