ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday showed regret over the last minute postponement and non-issuance of visas by India to 192 Pakistani devotees who wanted to participate in the Urs of Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Aulia (RA) in New Delhi.

Spokesperson of foreign office Dr Muhammad Faisal in a statement said the visit was to take place under the provisions of the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines and is a regular annual feature, adding as a result of this Indian decision, the Pakistani devotees will be deprived of the opportunity to participate in the Urs beginning from Monday.

The spokesperson said this is unfortunate and runs counter to the letter and spirit of the 1974 Protocol and objective of people-to-people contacts.

The spokesperson said such measures also undermine the efforts aimed at improving the environment and normalizing relations between the two countries.

Dr Muhammad Faisal said it is ironic that the visas were not issued to Pakistani Zaireen on the occasion of Urs of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya who was a symbol of bringing communities closer to each other.— APP