'Always happy to host Sikh pilgrims,' says Pakistan deputy high commissioner after India summons
India-Pakistan
India's ministry of external affairs said the Indian High Commissioner, who was to greet Indian pilgrims on the occasion of Baisakhi, was compelled to return when he was en route to Gurdwara Panja Sahib.
After India summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah over Pakistan's refusal to allow consular access to Sikh pilgrims in Punjab province, Shah said Islamabad is "always happy to host Sikh pilgrims".
On Tuesday, India had summoned Pakistan's deputy high commissioner and lodged a protest over attempts being made to raise the Khalistan issue during the visit of Sikh pilgrims.
India said it violatesthe spirit of the bilateral protocol of 1974 governing the exchange of visits of pilgrims between the two countries.
Around 1,800 Sikh pilgrims are on a visit to Pakistan for the past week under a bilateral agreement between the two countries facilitating visits to religious shrines.
India's ministry of external affairs said the Indian High Commissioner, who was to greet Indian pilgrims on the occasion of Baisakhi, was compelled to return when he was en route to Gurdwara Panja Sahib.
However, the Pakistan side dismissed India's view, foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that it was "deeply regrettable that facts in this matter had been completely distorted and misrepresented."
Faisal said the Secretary of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) had extended an invitation to the High Commissioner of India to attend the main function of Baisakhi at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib on April 14 and the foreign ministry granted the travel permission to him.
"However, in the run-up to the main function, the ETPB authorities noticed strong resentment among segments of Sikh Yatrees, gathered there from different parts of the world, protesting the release in India of some film on Baba Guru Nanak Devji.
"Considering an emotionally charged environment and the possibility of any untoward situation, the ETPB authorities contacted the Indian High Commission officials and suggested cancellation of the visit," Faisal claimed.