Some Pakistani traders await visa to participate at crafts bazaar

Political tension between India and Pakistan automatically derails the process of getting a visa. This is what has affected a few Pakistani traders and exhibitors who wanted to participate in the ongoing Dastkar Asia Bazaar, but haven't been able to put up their stalls because they are yet to get their visas.

Karachi-based exhibitor Mohamad Rashid had applied for four visas for himself and his team. So far, he is the only one to get "lucky".

"Three of my colleagues haven't got the visa yet. We have been told Tuesday is the last day to get the visa. I hope we get it because managing alone is a difficult task," Rashid, who has brought hand-embroidered fabrics, told IANS.

"I would like to believe I just got lucky", he added.

Rashid is participating for the first time at the annual crafts bazaar, where exhibitors from Nepal, Afghanistan, the Maldives, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are also exhibiting at the Nature Bazaar Venue at south Delhi's Andheria Modh.

The exhibition began Friday and is on till Sep 14.

According to the organisers, of the seven Pakistani exhibiting groups, only five have got visas. And the rest should get it in a day or two.

The seven groups include several team members whose visa applications haven't been approved.

Last year, nine Pakistani exhibitors had participated in the exhibition.

It seems these exhibitors have got used to the "stringent" and "harrowing" process of applying for a visa because for them, "satisfaction" lies in coming to India and proudly showcasing what their country has to offer.

"This is not a new thing, it is a recurrent 'masla' (problem)," Maihzaib Khan, who is exhibiting for the second time, told IANS.

"What is different this time is that it has become extremely difficult to get a visa. Around 8-10 people haven't got their visas and this is worrisome because this platform helps us show our skills to Indians," she said.

After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif for his swearing-in ceremony on May 26, which the latter attended despite opposition back home, political analysts saw a glimmer of hope in the bilateral relationship between the two nations, who have fought three full-blown wars, apart from the 1999 Kargil conflict.

But when the foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan was called off Aug 25 due to recurrent violation of the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, this again proved to be a major setback.

"We get so much love here that it never feels we are in some other country," Babar Bundu Khan of the Bundu Khan chain of restaurants, told IANS.

"The language is the same, the culture is same and people here give us so much love that we often wonder why culture and trade ties are sidelined whenever there is political tension," added the Karachi-based Babar.

This popular chain of restaurants has been showcasing for several years in India at different trade exhibitions. This is its second stint with the craft bazaar.

The fruit of several years of association enabled visas for all its six team members.

And for those who may now get a visa would have to cross over from the Wagah Border and then take a train or bus to Delhi as flights operate only on Monday and Saturday.

"I took three days to reach here," Maihzaib, who is from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told IANS.

"I had to take train to Lahore and then wait for a day to reach the border. Not everyone can afford air tickets," she added.

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in)