No visa for Indian instructor, but yoga event in Pak still on

With Pakistan rejecting visa to an Indian yoga instructor, India will now hold an in-house event at its High Commission in Islamabad to mark International Yoga Day on June 21, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.

"There is no problem. They refused them a visa. We did our internal arrangement there. But yoga will definitely happen there. We were not doing this programme there by depending on them only... We will conduct yoga inside the premises of our embassy," Swaraj said and noted that India had not put in any request to Pakistani authorities to organise any yoga event.

"They did not allow our instructors. So, we got to know about their mindset," she told reporters when asked about Pakistan rejecting visa to the Indian yoga instructor.

She also noted that India which was organising various events in 191 countries to mark the day had put in a request for 31 instructors to travel to various nations. "Only one visa was rejected. Around 30 instructors which we sent from here applied for that (and they got it)," she said.

Asked if it was tit for tat as India had rejected a visa to a Pakistani diplomat, Swaraj said, "Is it tit for tat, only Pakistan can tell."

India had rejected visa to a Pakistan foreign ministry official for a posting in the High Commission in Islamabad on "concerns" over his credentials.

Image: Representation picture