I am not angry, I am hurt, upset and somewhere wanting to know the reason. Out of 18 why only I was singled out
Anupam Kher | Film Actor
New Delhi/Karachi: Actor Anupam Kher has been denied visa by the Pakistan government to attend the Karachi Literary Festival (KLF), prompting him to suggest Tuesday that the decision may have been influenced by his stand on the issue of Kashmiri Pandits and his support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kher, who said he has been denied a Pakistani visa for the third time, was one of the 18 Indians invited to the four-day KLF starting Friday by the organisers and all of them including senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das but excluding the actor were granted the visa.
“I am not angry, I am hurt, upset and somewhere wanting to know the reason. Out of 18 why only I was singled out. It could be either because I am a Kashmiri Pandit, I am not playing a card of Kashmiri Pandit and trying to divide people, or because I’ve spoken about the issue of intolerance, taken a stand and have applauded my PM. Otherwise, there is no logical reason why the visa was denied to me. This has happened for the third time,” Kher told media in Mumbai.
The Pakistan High Commission in Delhi said Kher had never submitted visa application and so the question of issuing or denying him visa does not arise. Kher, a BJP sympathiser, has just been honoured with Padma Bhushan by the government.
In Karachi, KLF said they are unaware of the reasons for rejection of visa for the noted actor.Ameena Syed, the spokesperson for the KLF, told media that they had been advised by the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to tell Kher not to submit a visa application as he would not be issued one.
“That is all we have been told. They told us that the remaining 17 guests invited from India should be asked to submit applications as they would be issued visas,” she said. Agencies
