Pakistan cancels Indian envoy Ajay Bisaria's lecture in Lahore
Amidst the chill in bilateral ties, Pakistan canceled at the last minute Indian envoy Ajay Bisaria's scheduled lecture at a training institute in Lahore for not taking prior permission from the Foreign Office, according to sources. An official privy to the development said today that Indian High Commissioner Bisaria was invited by the National School of Public Policy (NSPP) to deliver a lecture yesterday.
Sources further informed that the NSPP management had to cancel Bisaria's lecture after receiving orders from the top. "The management was told that in case of inviting any ambassador for guest lecture, at least permission is required from the Foreign Office," an official said. The institution that imparts training to civil servants invites academicians, professionals, and dignitaries for guest lectures on a regular basis.
Earlier, Bisaria was also stopped from visiting Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Hasan Abdal. The Pakistan Government had claimed that Bisaria was stopped from visiting the gurdwara because of security reasons as Sikh yatris from India did not want to meet him.
The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016 and India's surgical strikes inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Last month, India called off a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries in New York, citing the brutal killings of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad releasing postage stamps "glorifying" Kashmiri militant Burhan Wani.
