Jaipur Literature Fest: Got visas late, say Pak writers
Some said Hanif was unwell. Festival director and writer William Dalrymple said there was a death in his family. However, other Pakistani invitees said they have not heard of any bereavement.
Pakistani feminist poet Fahmida Riaz said she received her visa a day before the event.
“The visa arrived very late for most of us. Last year I was denied a visa to attend the festival. This year too I thought I would have to miss it,” she said. On the protest against Pakistani invitees, she said, “It is sad that artistes and writers are attacked and not politicians and bureaucrats who are responsible for the worsening relations. Politics should not overshadow cultural relations between India and Pakistan.”
Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director of Oxford University Press in Pakistan, said, “It is outrageous that people here are protesting against Pakistani authors being invited to the festival. If you stop people-to-people contact then how will the situation improve?” Saiyid, who has a special SAARC visa, said that she luckily did not face any problem getting visa.
The youth wing of the BJP had threatened to disrupt the
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