'If he wishes to come’: Pak open to considering visa for Punjab CM Mann’s Lahore visit

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has indicated its willingness to grant a visa to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann should he wish to visit the neighbouring country for the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore on November 27, following an invitation to the event.

Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan made the remarks during his weekly media briefing while responding to a question about Mann's possible visit, PTI reported.

"The government would consider issuing Mann a visa if he wishes to visit Pakistan. However, whether the Indian government permits him to travel is an entirely separate matter," he told reporters in Islamabad.

On October 23, Mann had said that he had received an invitation to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore. However, the Punjab chief minister also raised doubts over whether he would be permitted to travel to Pakistan.

“Our culture is the same. Many poets from here will go there,” he remarked.

Mann had also voiced his wish for all members of the Punjab legislative assembly to visit Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan if it reopened. The corridor, which links Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab with the historic Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, was established to facilitate Sikh pilgrims visiting the shrine associated with Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism.

It enables Indian pilgrims to visit the gurdwara without a Pakistani visa, subject to applicable arrangements. The corridor has remained closed to pilgrims travelling from the India since May 7, 2025, when India launched pre-dawn missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

Last month, the Centre denied political clearance to Mann for his visit to Paris, prompting the Punjab government to challenge the decision before the Punjab and Haryana high court. The high court subsequently cleared his visit, observing that the Centre had “not explained” the political considerations it cited while refusing permission for his trip to the French capital.