India summons Pak deputy High Commissioner over attempts to block consular access to Sikh pilgrims

On Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) had lodged a protest with the Pakistan authorities over blocking of consular access to Sikh pilgrims in the country.

"A standard practice has been that the Indian High Commission’s consular/protocol team is attached with visiting pilgrims, to perform consular and protocol duties, like helping out in medical or family emergencies. However, this year, the consular team has been denied access to Indian Sikh pilgrims," the MEA had said.

The issue continued to boil on Monday as India summoned Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner to lodgea protest over attempts to raise the "Khalistan issue" during the visit of Sikh pilgrims in Pakistan.

"A strong protest was lodged at attempts being made during the ongoing visit of the Sikh pilgrims from India to Pakistan to raise the issue of "Khalistan" by making inflammatory statements and displaying posters at various places of pilgrims visit in Pakistan," the ministry said.

A group of 1,800 Sikh pilgrims are on a visit to Pakistan since April 12 under a bilateral agreement aimed at facilitating visits to religious shrines.

The MEA 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.

"It was conveyed that such repeated attempts by authorities and entities in Pakistan to extend support to secessionist movements in India amount to interference in its internal affairs," the MEA added.

The MEA said such incidents during the visit of Indian pilgrims went against the spirit of the bilateral protocol of 1974 governing the exchange of visits of pilgrims between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Pakistan said the allegation were "baseless". Pakistan foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal also 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," Faisal claimed.

"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 said.

He said the Indian High Commission officials, after due deliberation, conveyed back to ETPB their agreement to call off the visit in view of such a situation.

"The cancellation took place with mutual understanding," Faisal said, claiming that the facts regarding visits of Consular/Protocol teams on April 12 and 14 have also been twisted.