Ministry sources say govt was concerned they might become victims of some hostile incident
A group of Pakistani children visiting India had to cut short their tour following an advisory by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the wake of the recent beheading of Indian soldiers in Kashmir.
The 50 students had come on an invitation by a Delhi-based NGO to visit their pen friends and promote peace between the two nations.
Gopal Baglay, MEA spokesperson, said: "An NGO had invited them. They crossed the border on the day the mutilation incident happened. We advised the non-profit organisation that this was not the appropriate time for such an interaction."
He, however, refused to comment whether the security of the visitors was a factor. Ministry sources , on the other hand, claimed that the government was concerned about them, lest they become victims of some hostile incident.
Around 50 children in the age group of 10-15 years had arrived in India along with their teachers on Monday as part of 'Student Exchange for Change' programme organised by Routes2Roots. The main objective of the visit, according to the NGO, was to "make peace between India and Pakistan".
The group had visited Golden Temple on the day of their arrival and reached Delhi the same night. As per the original schedule, they were scheduled to go sightseeing in Agra on Wednesday and meet their pen friends in the Pakistan Embassy on Thursday before flying back to Lahore.
Talking to DNA, Rakesh Gupta, founder, Routes2Roots said: "We are extremely pained with the mutilation of our soldiers, and we respect the sentiments of fellow countrymen and families of the deceased. This is one of the main reasons we had to cut short their visit." He further said that the team had felt the "undercurrents"of hostility towards the children when they took them to different tourist spots in the capital.
"We got concerned about their safety because when they went to Red Fort and other places, the glances we received were not very welcoming. It is easy to figure out that they were from Pakistan and we never wanted them to be collateral damage in this highly charged atmosphere," Gupta added.
The same group was scheduled to come to India in October 2016 as well, which was later cancelled due to surgical strikes.
Meanwhile, in a message to Tina Vachani, another founder of the NGO, Shazia Iqbal, head, Lahore Grammar School, thanked the Indian government and the organisation for "ensuring a smooth and safe transfer of the children across the border."
SAFE PASSAGE
- 50 students had come at the invitation of a Delhi-based NGO to visit pen friends and promote peace.
- Ministry sources say govt was concerned they might become victims of some hostile incident.
- The team had felt the “undercurrents”of hostility towards the children at different tourist spots in the capital.
- The same group’s earlier visit in October 2016 was cancelled due to India’s surgical strikes
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