ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has categorically rejected Indian allegations that members of the Hindu community were denied entry into its territory, calling the claims “unfounded and misleading,” Radio Pakistan reported.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said in response to media queries that the assertions were “entirely baseless” and represented an attempt to distort facts and politicize an administrative matter.
He said the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi issued more than 2,400 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India for celebrations marking the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev Ji, taking place from Nov. 4 to 13.
Andrabi noted that 1,932 pilgrims successfully crossed into Pakistan through the Attari-Wagah border, while about 300 visa holders were reportedly stopped by Indian authorities.
A small number of individuals were found with incomplete documentation and could not provide satisfactory responses to immigration officials, Andrabi said. They were asked to return to India in line with standard procedures.
“To suggest that these individuals were denied entry on religious grounds is completely incorrect and mischievous,” he said.
He added that immigration procedures on the Pakistani side were “smooth, orderly and without hindrance.”
Pakistan, he emphasized, has always welcomed pilgrims of all faiths to visit its sacred sites within a well-established, facilitative framework. The measures taken, he added, were purely administrative and consistent with Pakistan’s sovereign right to regulate entry into its territory.
Andrabi said attempts to give the issue a communal or political color were “regrettable” and reflected the “prejudiced mindset” that dominates certain sections of the Indian government and media narratives, according to Radio Pakistan.
