Pakistani delegation leaves without attending the Vibrant Gujarat Summit

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: While BJP prodded the Manmohan Singh government to take "tough" decisions vis-a-vis Pakistan after the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers, in Gujarat, a Pakistani delegation left without attending the Vibrant Gujarat Summit for which it had come.

The 11-member delegation from the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry was scheduled to attend the inaugural session of the Vibrant Gujarat summit in Gandhinagar on Friday, the day BJP held anti-Pakistan protests. The delegation, which had reached Ahmedabad, was escorted to Surat and then left for Mumbai on Friday evening itself. They attended some industry symposiums in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

According to official sources, the delegation had visa only for Ahmedabad, which is just 30 km away. Delegates from the chamber had attended a business event in Ahmedabad last year. "The visas issued to the delegation were only for Ahmedabad while some members had visas for Surat and Vapi also. The delegation could not attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, which was held in Gandhinagar," news agencies quoted SK Nanda, principal secretary (home) SK Nanda, as saying.

Visas are issued to Pakistani citizens only city-wise or to a certain destination, just as in the case of Indians being given visas for Pakistan. The invitation to the group, which was to participate at business-to-business meetings at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in sectors like textiles, chemicals and gems, was issued much earlier but at the time of the Summit, tensions between India and Pakistan had escalated.