MEA reminds India's stance against Pak as Punjab CM seeks clearance for Lahore visit

NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Friday reiterated New Delhi's tough diplomatic stance towards Islamabad as Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann sought the Centre's clearance to attend a conference in Pakistan.

During the bi-weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that requests for political clearance undergo an assessment in line with India's broader foreign policy framework. "When it comes to relations with foreign countries, we have a national policy and expect everybody to abide by it. As far as political clearances for dignitaries visiting abroad are concerned, an assessment is made by this ministry, in line with its overall policy and processed accordingly," Jaiswal said.

"As far as our position on Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack is concerned, it should be amply clear to all as to where we stand," he added.

This comes after Mann said his office was preparing to formally seek clearance to attend the 4th International World Punjabi Conference in Lahore, Pakistan, scheduled from November 27 to 29. Earlier, Mann had confirmed in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha that he had received an invitation to serve as the chief guest at the three-day cultural conclave in Lahore.

"We will wait for what they say. Political clearance has to be taken," Mann said during a press conference, noting that his office was completing the necessary paperwork to submit to the MEA. While expressing his eagerness to attend, the chief minister had also called for the reopening of the Kartarpur Corridor, which remains suspended amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions, so that legislators could visit Sikh religious shrines across the border.

Under Government of India rules (Cabinet Secretariat and MEA guidelines), all chief ministers, state ministers and state government officials must obtain prior political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs before undertaking any official or private visit abroad, particularly to sensitive destinations such as Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent deterioration in India-Pakistan diplomatic and security relations, cross-border transit mechanisms, including the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, were suspended by New Delhi.