Pakistani diplomats barred from attending Jaipur Litfest

Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said on Saturday that two Pakistani diplomats had been denied permission to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival because of “inputs from various agencies”.

But one of the diplomats, chief of Pakistan High Commission’s media wing Manzoor Memon, said they were denied permission though they had registered themselves for the conference, reported The Hindu.

Khurshid himself fielded questions about the issue as the ministry invited journalists to the venue of his call on the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, around noon.

“Diplomatic requests are made, from time to time, to the ministry for travelling across the country. In most cases, these requests are… accepted. In some cases for specific reasons at that time best known to the ministry and other agencies that are consulted, we have to say no,” he said, adding that one should not confuse any “coincidence with any specific decision vis-à-vis the Jaipur Literary Festival, or for that matter anything else.”

While Memon also wanted to go to Ajmer to visit the shrine of Khwaja Moiunuddin Chisti, the other diplomat, Naeem Anwar of the High Commission’s trade wing, had sought permission to visit Agra, where a trade partnership summit would be held. Memon, who wanted to be in Jaipur when Pakistani journalists and authors visited the city, was denied permission to go to both places. Anwar also wanted to go to Agra, though Pakistani presence at the meeting would be thinner after Commerce Minister Amin Fahim cancelled his visit following the skirmishes along the Line of control.