MEA writes to Pakistan High Commission, seeks visas for 487 including Punjab ministers

All three delegations are scheduled to depart the same day. With Centre clubbing all three delegations, it remains to be seen who would lead the delegation now. “We have received a copy of this letter of MEA to Pak High Commission. The Centre has not addressed any communication to us. We do not know what is happening. But the fact that they have sought visa for our delegation means that our jatha is on. Otherwise, we had started losing hope. Let us see what happens,” said a functionary of the government.

The MEA, in its letter written on Wednesday, shared a list of 487 pilgrims, with the Pakistan High Commission, calling the delegation the first jatha to Pakistan in connection with 550th birth anniversary celebrations. The list of 487 pilgrims includes the list of 31 of state government comprising ministers, MLAs, officials and journalists. The MEA has also asked the Pakistan High Commission to allow a gold palanquin, Guru Granth Sahib with gold cover and a Chaur Sahib with gold handle to cross over without levying of any tax.

The delegation by the Punjab government will comprise Soni, four other ministers including Rural Development Minister Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Jails and Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu.

Harsimrat to lead another delegation
Even as the CM has announced to take an all party delegation to Kartarpur Sahib on November 9, Union Minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal will be leading another delegation on the same day. Though she is also an MP from Punjab, sources in Akali Dal said BJP and SAD MLAs and MPs would not be a part of Amarinder’s delegation. They would go separately.