No to Pakistani diplomats unrelated to Jaipur fest: Khurshid
The denial of permission to two Pakistani diplomats to travel to Jaipur did not specifically have anything to do with the literature festival in the city and was a "coincidence", External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said Friday.
"Let's not confuse coincidence with any specific decision vis-a-vis the Jaipur festival or for that matter anything else," Khurshid told reporters when asked about the denial of permission to the diplomats.
"Diplomatic requests are made from time to time to the ministry for travelling across the country. In most cases, these requests are accepted and in come cases, for specific reasons at that time best known to the ministry and other agencies, we have to say no," the minister said.
He added that it had not been brought to his knowledge that it (denial of visa) had anything specific to do with the Jaipur festival.
The external affairs ministry did not give the two Pakistani diplomats requisite approval to attend the festival. The two had reportedly sought permission to visit Jaipur Jan 24-28 for the festival 10 days in advance.
Asked about an Indian prisoner who died in a Pakistani prison, Khurshid said the government had sought the post-mortem report.
"We have asked for the post-mortem report and after getting (it) we can say something further," he said.
