Thaw hasn't helped Pak delegation at Goa art fest

The resumption of dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad has not helped the visa issues faced by a delegation of Pakistanis waiting to enter the country to participate in the Goa Arts and Literary Festival (GALF) that began on Thursday.

"There is a delegation of Pakistani authors who are supposed to come, but their visas are still up in the air," Vivek Menezes, author and co-organiser of the GALF, told reporters here on Wednesday.

"However, Goan-origin Pakistani journalist-author Cyril Almeida will be present for the event..." he added.

Pakistanis' visa problems coincide, ironically, with the publication of a joint India-Pakistan statement that talks of "people to people exchanges".

Menezes said that authors and artists from 12 countries were expected to participate in the sixth edition of GALF.

The four-day arts and literary fest is to be attended by author Ramchandra Guha; former Indian Navy chief, Admiral Arun Prakash, Dayanita Singh, Gita Hariharan, Harsh Mander and Jerry Pinto.