Pakistan said it would consider issuing Bhagwant Mann a visa for a Lahore conference. His proposed visit remains subject to permission from the Indian government.
Pakistan on Friday said it was willing to consider issuing a visa to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann if he wished to visit the country, following his announcement that he had been invited to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore later this month.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan made the statement during his weekly media briefing while responding to a question about the possibility of Mann travelling to Pakistan.
The Pakistani government would “consider issuing him a visa if he wished to visit the country”, Khan said. However, he clarified that whether the Indian government would allow the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to travel across the border was a separate matter.
On October 23, Mann had revealed that he had received an invitation to attend the World Punjabi Conference scheduled to be held in Lahore on November 27. However, he expressed uncertainty over whether he would be permitted to visit Pakistan.
“Our culture is the same. Many poets from here will go there,” Mann had said.
The Punjab Chief Minister had also expressed a desire to take all members of the state legislative assembly to Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan if the Kartarpur Corridor reopened.
KARTARPUR CORRIDOR REMAINS SHUT SINCE MAY 2025
The Kartarpur Corridor connects Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, a shrine associated with Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism. The visa-free arrangement allows Indian pilgrims to visit the gurdwara and return on the same day, subject to applicable travel arrangements.
However, the corridor has remained closed to pilgrim movement from the Indian side since May 7, 2025, when India launched strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir under Operation Sindoor, following the Pahalgam terror attack.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson said Islamabad remained willing to facilitate religious pilgrims once the restrictions were lifted, reiterating that the country welcomed visitors of all faiths to its religious sites.
