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Sikhs visiting
Nankana Sahib in Pak being denied Canadian visa
WSN Network
Amritsar: In a
disturbing report, a section of the Indian media has said that
certain Punjabis, who have recently visited Pakistan, have found
that that they are being denied Canadian visa.
Chandigarh-based The Tribune newspaper said Gurjinder Singh Mahal
(36), an Amritsar-based businessman, has claimed that he had applied
for Canadian visa so that he could go and meet his younger sister
Kanwaljit Kaur in Rosedale in August. Even though he fulfilled 13
points on the check list, he was denied visa on the grounds that his
“ties to the country of residence were balanced against factors
which might motivate to stay in Canada”.
After he sent a letter to the Canadian Embassy, pointing out that
with his family and property in India, he had reasons to come back
on the expiry of his stay, this objection was removed, but three
other objections like “insufficient documents to show income” were
put. Interestingly, these conditions had been cleared the first
time.
“My only disqualification is that I visited Pakistan on pilgrimage
visa in June, 2006, to pay obeisance at the Sikh shrines in Lahore,
Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib and Khartarpur Sahib,” he said.
His mother, Surinder Kaur, had the same story to narrate, even
though her case was recommended by Gurbax Singh Malhi, Canadian MP,
in October, 2006. “I wanted to visit Canada to attend the marriage
of my daughter, who is well-settled there. But getting a visa
sanction to Pakistan before this proved to be my undoing, even
though I couldn’t make it to the neighbouring country,” she said.
Mahal said, “I recently made a short trip to Thailand and Malaysia
on tourist visa but the embassies of these countries had no
objection,” he said.
There are others who have gone through this but do not want to
protest openly for the fear of being blacklisted by Canada.
Trudy Kernighan, minister counsellor (immigration), Canadian High
Commission, at Delhi was however qouted as saying that the Canadian
High Commission has no policy in place that would allow us to refuse
applicants simply because of previous travel to Pakistan.”
10 October, 2007
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