Pak High Commission offers visa to Anupam Kher. But now he doesn't want it

Following the row over actor Anupam Kher's visa to Pakistan, the Pakistan High Commission has now reportedly offered him a visa to allow him to attend the Karachi Literary Festival - scheduled to begin on 5 February.

Kher claimed that Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit called him up today to offer him a visa to visit Karachi. But the actor turned down the visa saying that he had already taken up other assignments on the scheduled dates and that he might visit Pakistan in the future.

It was on 2 February that the actor alleged that Pakistan had denied him a visa on the orders from its Interior Ministry. The 60-year-old Kher said that 17 other invitees to the Karachi literature festival, including senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid and actor Nandita Das, had been granted a visa.

"Has my visa been denied because I speak about India's rich tradition of tolerance or I am a Kashmiri Pandit who may expose the Pakistan terror nexus?" he questioned.

The Pakistan High commissioner refuted the allegations claiming that the actor had not applied for the visa. "Sorry Sir I don't know who told you about this so-called NoC, we are still to receive your visa application and passport," Basit said in a tweet late on Tuesday night.

Responding to the incident, Union Minister of State for home Kiren Rijiju said that Pakistan has a right to grant or refuse visa to an individual.

In May last year, Kher was denied a visa to Pakistan, reportedly on security grounds, when he was due to visit Lahore for an event organised by an NGO.