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  India   All India  14 Aug 2018  Navjot Singh Sidhu applies for visa to Pak?

Navjot Singh Sidhu applies for visa to Pak?

THE ASIAN AGE.
Published : Aug 14, 2018, 2:33 am IST
Updated : Aug 14, 2018, 2:33 am IST

Sidhu is one of the very few Indian cricketers to have been invited by Mr. Khan for the ceremony.

Navjot Singh Sidhu (Photo: PTI)
 Navjot Singh Sidhu (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Punjab tourism minister and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday visited the Pakistan high commission in the national capital, presumably for his visa formalities to be able to travel to Pakistan for the swearing-in ceremony of his friend and former cricket superstar Imran Khan as Prime Minister of Pakistan on August 18.

Mr Sidhu apparently told reporters that he was awaiting political clearance from the Indian government to attend the ceremony.

After visiting the Pakistan high commission, the Punjab minister was quoted by websites as telling reporters, “I came here for some formalities. I have applied for government permission. I sought political clearance from the ministry of external affairs (MEA). Everything now depends on the Indian government’s permission.”

Mr. Sidhu is one of the very few Indian cricketers to have been invited by Mr. Khan for the ceremony. According to TV reports, Mr. Sidhu had termed the invitation as a “great honour” and had also hailed it as an “opportunity to change people’s lives”. Mr. Sidhu had also reportedly praised Mr. Khan’s ascension as an opportunity for ties to “improve the ties between the two rival neighbours”. Lavishing praise on Mr. Khan, Mr. Sidhu was quoted as saying, “Men of genius are admired, men of power are feared but men of character are trusted. Khan Sahab is a man of character. He can be trusted.”

Mr. Sidhu had also reportedly said that he even wants to take Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh to visit the Shri Nankana Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan to attend the celebrations of 550 years of Sikhism, which will be held in 2019. Shri Nankana Sahib in Pakistan is where the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469.

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Tags: navjot singh sidhu, imran khan, external affairs