Pakistan establishment seems to take a sadistic pleasure in humiliating or harassing Indians associated with Mumbai films (Bollywood) or the world of arts and culture when they apply for visas to visit the land of the ‘pure’. The latest victim of this Pakistani fad is the well-known poet and scriptwriter, Javed Akhtar. He along with 20 others, almost all of them film personalities, were issued a ‘group’ visa on June 20 but two days later Akhtar’s visa was taken off the list, for reasons not conveyed to him.
Javed Akhtar, his actress-wife Shabana Azmi, and the other Mumbai stars were invited to participate in a day-long programme on Pakistani TV to raise funds for the victims of October 2005 earthquake in Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK) and parts of NWFP. Obviously, the Indian stars were not going to Pakistan for any political reasons; it was all for a humanitarian cause. By singling out Akhtar for ‘delay’ or ‘denial’ of the visa, the Pakistan foreign office had injected politics into the issue. As far as one can make out about the only thing that might bother the Pakistanis is that Javed Akhtar, like his wife, is a strong advocate of secular values in daily life.
The Pakistanis do not take steps like denying visa to a well-known Indian personality inadvertently; nor can it be dismissed as a case of bureaucratic muddle-headedness. Besides, Javed Akhtar had not applied for a Pakistani visa for a personal visit; he was among the invitees who were to go in a delegation that had, presumably, the previous approval of the military establishment that rules in Islamabad. When the visa denial issue caught attention of the media, the Pakistanis tried to cover up by saying that his visa had been ‘delayed’ and was not cancelled.
Few in India will buy the explanation. Islamabad is given to inventing preposterous excuses for ‘delays’ in issuing visas to certain Indians and when the visa is denied outright, the Pakistani excuses become outrageous. It would also appear that when the Pakistanis issue visa to certain class of Indians due to some compulsion they show their displeasure in very crude form. There are many instances when the visas were refused even to Indians invited by recognised bodies.
This is especially true of artists and entertainers, even the comparatively lesser known. One does not know if the practice continues, but at one time the Indian High Commission in Islamabad used to celebrate the Republic Day with a performance by a visiting classical Indian musician or a dancer. The Pakistanis put the spokes and started denying visas to the Indian artists—after keeping the artist in suspense till almost the last hour.
Pakistani High Commission in Delhi issues lesser visas than its Indian counterpart in Islamabad, as a result more Pakistanis travel to India than Indians travelling in the other direction. This imbalance looks strange because India and Pakistan, deeply suspicious as they are of each other, maintain a clear ‘parity’ in the number of High Commission staff in the other country. If, for instance, the ‘sanctioned’ strength of the visa section is 10, then 10 Indians are issuing more visas than 10 Pakistanis. Not necessarily because the Indian clerk is working harder than his Pakistani counterpart, but because the Pakistanis are so niggardly in allowing Indians to visit their country, fearing a larger influx into their ‘pure’ land would start to wash away (within Pakistan) their carefully orchestrated campaign against India that goes back to August 1947.
The Pakistanis are always pressing for permission to enlarge their staff in the High Commission here, even when their official policy is to keep ties with India limited, as long s the so-called ‘core’ issue is not sorted out to their satisfaction. It is significant that the Pakistani emphasis is on seeking permission to bring in more clerks for their visa section. If India is hesitant to accede to that wish there are clear reasons. Pakistan has a habit of sending a platoon of ISI types to its mission in India—and some neighbouring countries.
It may be mentioned in passing here that since the number of Pakistani staff in Delhi was curtailed there has been a considerable decline in the activities of the Pakistani mission members ‘not compatible with their diplomatic status ’. It has been long since a Pakistani non-diplomatic staff member was caught hawking fake Rs. 500 currency notes or getting into altercation with an Indian sleuth hot on their heels.
According to the latest ‘rumour’, the Pakistani film industry is likely to hire Indian stars in their movies. But it is a cruel joke because more often than not, the Pakistanis outright deny visas to prominent Indian film stars. For instance, Lata Mangeshkar has never been issued visa to visit Pakistan. It is a well-known fact, resented to by many Indian artists, that the number of Pak entertainers and artists visiting India is several times more than the other way round. Some of the big names like Ghulam Ali and Reshma seem to be performing in India regularly; some others are almost permanently parked in Mumbai.
Not very long ago, the Punjab chief minister had taken a delegation to the Pakistani Punjab, on invitation from his counterpart in the Pakistani province. It was said to be part of a newfound bonhomie between the two Punjabs, which share a strong cultural and linguistic bond. Every member of the delegation was apparently issued a visa after ‘clearance’ from Islamabad. But no sooner had the Indians settled into their hotel in Lahore, an Indian journalist, very much part of the group, was unceremoniously thrown out and asked to leave the country immediately.
The Indian journalist was taken by surprise. Assuming that he was considered an ‘unfriendly’ sort of person by the Pakistani establishment, why was he issued a visa in the first place? When the matter came to light, the Pakistanis merely said that it was all due to some ‘misunderstanding’ for which they felt no need to apologise.
More recently, yester-year film star Feroze Khan landed in Pakistan on a valid visa and everything was going well till a local TV compere turned his leery gaze on a Mumbai film heroine and asked Khan some provocative questions to which he replied in kind. It did not take long for the Pakistanis to declare Khan an unwelcome guest; he has since been declared unwelcome for ever and a life-long ban on his visits has been clamped.
Unfortunately, for the Pakistanis, who probably have fabulous notions about their country, Feroze Khan is unlikely to crave for another visit to Pakistan. Nor would all the other Indians who have faced humiliation or boorishness at the hands of Pakistani bureaucracy either at the High Commission in India or in Pakistan!
Courtesy : Syndicate Features
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