At Wagah, Swiss couple finds the law is an ass

It was supposed to be a joyous trip round the world, marriage beckoning at the end. But for Celine Overney, 31, and her fiancé Mathias Berovalis, 32, their journey on foot from Switzerland has been stalled at the Wagah border, where Indian customs are not allowing the two donkeys accompanying them to cross the border.
The couple reached Wagah last month where they were told that they could walk their dog into India but not the beasts of burden because they are not classified as pets.

As of now, the animals are under the care of Punjab’s animal husbandry department. The couple has petitioned the Swiss embassy to resolve the impasse.

“We can’t release the donkeys till we get directives from Delhi,” a customs official said. Officials say there is a statutory provision by which import of livestock through land, especially from Pakistan and Afghanistan, is barred. The couple have been suggested to take the donkeys back to Pakistan and have them flown into India. “But things are so bad in Pakistan! Moreover, we can’t afford to fly our animals into India,” Overney told DNA.

She and Berovalis started their world peace tour three months ago and reached India after crossing Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Iran and finally Pakistan. “Before crossing one country for the next, we always go to the latter’s embassy to clarify whether we have the required documents and permits,” Overney said. But at the Indian high commission in Islamabad, she said, they weren’t told that in this leg of their trip they would have to do all the donkey work.