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Pakistan yet to give visas to Indian cyclists

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Nine outdoor enthusiasts who have embarked on a peace mission from Panvel in Maharashtra to Pakistan on bicycles are yet to be granted visas by the Pakistani authorities.

The cyclists, who were scheduled to cross the Wagah border on Saturday, said they had not been granted visas despite having submitted their applications more than a month in advance.

The peace activists -- two girls and seven boys -- are awaiting the required travel permits at Amristar. These youngsters who started their journey from Panvel on March 1 are hopeful of visiting Lahore and Islamabad, where they will meet students, members of civil society and politicians to further the ongoing peace initiatives between the two countries.

"We express our disappointment at the Pakistan Government not granting visas to the peace cyclists and disallowing simple gestures of people-to-people contact that contribute to the peace-building process," said the Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy in a statement.

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