Islamabad : Pakistan on Thursday clarified that its High Commission in New Delhi had spoken to Anupam Kher about the visa but the Bollywood actor had said that he would not be able to travel to the country.
“Let me say that our High Commissioner spoke to Mr. Anupam Kher three days before the Literature Festival. However, he conveyed that he would not be able to travel to Pakistan. The matter stands resolved,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Qazi Khalilullah told a briefing here.
Kher, who was to travel to Pakistan to attend the Karachi Literary Festival beginning on Friday, earlier claimed that he was denied a visa by the Pakistani authorities. He was one of the 18 Indians invited by the organisers of the festival to the four-day event.
The 60-year-old actor, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan recently, has been a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP Government.
After Kher lashed out at Islamabad for denying him a visa, the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi announced that Kher had not submitted any visa application.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit called Kher and offered him a visa to travel to Karachi for the literary festival. The actor, however, turned down the offer, saying he had taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates. (ANI)