New Delhi has decided not to grant a visa to former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf who had expressed his wish to visit India to attend a seminar in during the weekend.
The Union government decision was prompted by a ministry of home affairs (MHA) objection citing Musharraf’s recent anti-India statements.
Musharraf was invited to take part in a seminar organised by the Young Presidents Organisation, an international organisation led by business leaders. The seminar was scheduled for Saturday in Delhi. Musharraf was among the guest speakers at the seminar.
Sources in the home ministry said the Indian government didn’t want to become a party to the tussle between Pakistani citizens who were vehemently against the ruling government in Pakistan and the MHA did not want the activities of such groups to spill over on Indian soil.
The Indian authorities squarely blamed Musharraf for waging war against India during the Kargil conflict in 1999 and his recent admission that regular Pakistani soldiers were also killed in the war with India.
Senior officials said apart from Musharraf, some of his supporters from Pakistan had also applied for visas to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad so that they could meet Musharraf in Delhi at the same time. The group, along with Musharraf, was planning to visit Delhi and three other metros.
The former ruler of Pakistan, who is now living in self-exile in Britain, had recently blamed India for creating problems in the Baluchistan state of Pakistan. Musharraf had claimed that Pakistani authorities have solid evidence against India’s role to prove their claims. Apart from blaming India for the problems in Baluchistan, Musharraf had claimed Afghanistan was actively supporting India in creating unrest in the province.
As president, Musharraf had led a delegation to India during the Agra summit in 2001 and later made two more visits in 2005 to watch a cricket match between India and Pakistan. He had also made another visit in 2009 to attend a media event.
