‘Pak’ Denial

Anupam Kher has been denied visa by Pakistan to attend the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF). Although, the Pakistan High Commission said the actor never applied for visa, KLF director Ameena Saiyid told reporters in Karachi that they were advised by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to inform Anupam Kher not to submit a visa application as he would not be issued the one. However, 17 artists are given visa and Anupam Kher is denied. It is to be noted that he has been denied a Pakistani visa for the third time, which is not good for the relations between two countries. What is more, artists, singers, actors, cricket players and writers from Pakistan are regularly granted visa by India. The reason for refusal of visa is quite evident, i.e. Anupam Kher’s crusade for the return of Kashmiri Pandits. One should not forget the miseries the Kashmiri Pandits are undergoing. So, why is Pakistan so afraid of Kashmiri Pandits or does it want to deny their existence after carrying out genocide of Pandits? Or because Kher has spoken against the issue of intolerance, taken a stand and applauded PM Narendra Modi. Otherwise, there is no logical reason why the visa was denied to him. Pakistan government’s biased attitude towards Kashmiri Pandits is substantiated by the relentless persecution of Hindus in Pakistan, which has become a matter of great concern for India. Hounded by Islamic fundamentalists in cahoots with the administration, the hapless Hindus have no options but to take shelter in India. More than 600 Hindus recently flocked to India and taken shelter at Bijwasan in Delhi to escape the atrocities at the hands of their perpetrators back home. This is intolerance and where are Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and the award-wapsi jamaat?

Against this backdrop, the deafening silence maintained by the secular brigade and award-wapsi jamaat is not surprising. For, it is these people who always advocate for the cause of Pakistan. It is they who flip the coin in the air when there is the context of Indo-Pak relations. And no wonder, whichever way the coin falls, Pakistan will walk away with diplomatic victory. How pathetic that the Indian liberals take the side of Pakistan, a country that is prone to telling lies. It seems, for them, Anupam Kher is a liar because he supports BJP, whereas Pakistan is the epitome of ‘truth and integrity’. It’s the same Pakistan that even denied Kasab was a Pakistani, and they also kept saying to the world they know nothing about Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts, until the Americans realised Laden was hiding in Pakistan and living in a big mansion located right next to Pakistan’s military academy. Pakistan also keeps denying all the terror acts they plan on India, despite all the evidence that India provides. India provided Pakistan with kilos and kilos of dossiers regarding 26/11 and also India has provided dossier on the Pathankot attack. However, Pakistan keeps demanding more dossiers. Now they are also asking Anupam Kher for the visa apply receipt. It seems Pakis love to collect paper and are kabadi-wallahs. Pakistan’s penchant for giving pinpricks to India is well known and phenomenal. Every wee bit of a thing is grist for Pak mill to poke at us. And we hope and endeavour to get things between us resolved! There could be no end to our dealing with that country. Kher’s visa was rejected because he is a Hindu Pandit from Kashmir and he also shows mirror to the so-called intolerance in India by pseudo-secularists. It cannot be gainsaid that it is foolish on part of Pakistan to deny a visa for a literature conference to Anupam Kher because a literature festival ought to be taken over censorship of ideas. I wonder if the brigade of award wapsi will come forth and condemn or simply say he deserved to be banned. In any event, nothing lost by not going to the land where terrorism is the only game in town, mostly against India and Afghanistan. It is the Indians, probably the award-wapsi type, that crave for all things Pakistani. But that is irrelevant as are they.

Deepak Kumar Rath