Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Tuesday reiterated that actor Anupam Kher did not submit his documents like other participants, which is why he was denied the visa to attend Karachi Literature Festival.
“I know Anupam Kher sahab. He is a great artist and we have great respect for him. But as it is universal practice, visa request is processed when visa application is received, not on the basis of an invitation letter from a visiting country,” Basit told ANI here.
“We wish that his office had submitted his visa documents as other participants did and got their visa on time. No visa application was submitted to us,” he added.
However, Kher has flatly refused Pakistan’s charges that he never applied for a visa and said that the Pakistan High Commission was lying.
“I am not angry with anyone. I am hurt and saddened…the organiser of the Karachi lit fest said that the government officials told her not to invite Anupam Kher. I don’t know why? I would request the Government of India to take up this matter (with Pakistan),” Kher told the media.
Kher, who was to attend the Karachi Literature Festival on February 5, has been denied visa by Pakistan.
The actor was denied a Pakistani visa in May 2015 as well, when he wanted to visit Pakistan to attend a literary festival in Lahore. (ANI)