After visiting a Paris food fair, Mann invites himself to Lahore

Pakistan’s provincial minister for minority affairs and chairman of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (PSGPC) Ramesh Singh Arora was quick to respond to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s “wish” to visit Lahore for the international Punjabi conference scheduled on November 26-27.

Speaking in the Pakistan Punjab Assembly, Arora went a step further, inviting all Indian Punjab Assembly members and even said they could visit the Kartarpur corridor. The visit, said Arora, would be an opportunity to witness “religious freedom and interfaith harmony” in Pakistan and virtuously added that Pakistan’s constitution guarantees equal rights to all.

Minorities in Pakistan

It is another matter that Arora’s claims fly in the face of a sharp decline in the population of non-Muslims and the prevalence of anti-blasphemy laws is a sword that constantly dangles over minorities, including sects like Ahmadiyas who consider themselves as Muslims.

Speaking in the Indian Punjab Assembly, Mann had wondered if he would be given the political clearance to visit Pakistan even as he expressed a desire to visit Lahore. Arora, too, shared Mann’s skepticism over whether the Chief Minister would get the required clearance but said he was willing to play host. On his part, Mann said the Centre was not even keen on letting him go to France or Japan. “How will they let me go to Pakistan?” he lamented.

Mann’s desire to visit Pakistan and his reference to “political permission” being denied to him provides an opportunity to take a closer look at the circumstances around his recent visit to France from October 17-21 for the SIAL (Salon International de l’Alimentation) food exhibition and the chief minster’s claim that the Centre has opposed his travel plans.

Were the Centre’s objections “political”?

In its order allowing Mann to travel to Paris and rejecting the Centre’s denial of permission, the Punjab and Haryana high court said the ministry of external affairs has not explained the “political” angle cited for refusing the request. Does “political clearance” mean examining the application from a “political angle,” the court asked.

The high court refuted MEA’s reasoning that a proper invitation was absent, saying the SIAL had sent an invite and held that Mann had indeed a functional role in the visit. The court further asked why a functional role should be evaluated by the MEA. In any case, the requirement was superfluous as clearance has been denied due to “political angle” alone.

No Governmental Invite for Mann

The court’s order and MEA’s reasoning demand closer analysis. In its submission to the court, MEA stated the conduct of foreign relations is a responsibility of the MEA as per allocation of business rules of the government of India. Strict adherence to the process of obtaining political clearance prior to undertaking a foreign visit is mandatory as it ensures safety, security and standing of the dignitary. It cannot be said the Centre need not concern itself with the chief minister of a state undertaking a foreign visit.

In Mann’s case, the MEA said, there was no formal governmental invitation. “There was no formal invitation by the host government,” the ministry told the court. Instructions issued by the Cabinet Secretariat state that “minister-level visits abroad should be undertaken only in response to formal governmental invitations from the countries concerned.” An invitation from SIAL does not make the cut, all the more as six officials had already been granted clearance to travel to France for the event.

Security Cover

Importantly, the MEA pointed out, Punjab government had itself admitted in a communication to the ministry that the Chief Minister faces a threat to his life from various terrorist outfits such as Babbar Khalsa, International Tiger Force, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Khalistan Liberation Force and radical elements based in Canada, US, UK and other European nations.

“In the absence of a proper bilateral invitation from the foreign government, such security arrangements and protocol are simply unavailable…the (Indian) mission does not have the jurisdiction to direct and order local security and protocol agencies for the host government, who usually provide such services only for official visits based on invitations,” the MEA said.

Frequent Flyer Mann

Mann’s claims that he has been denied permissions for political reasons – which seem to have struck a chord with the high court – do not square up to the record. The Chief Minister has travelled abroad frequently. In 2026 itself, with two months to go for the new year, Mann has been to Finland (April 21-24), Netherlands (April 18-22), Finland again (February 15-18), Czech Republic and Netherlands (February 7-15). He has been to Japan and South Korea (December 1-10, 2025) and Germany (September 10-18, 2022).

Mischief in Lahore

Mann’s desire to now visit Lahore in an election season at home has political implications. Should the visit be turned down, the Aam Admi Party (AAP) can be expected to argue that this is a snub not only to Mann but to Sikh sentiments in general since the Chief Minister and MLAs were invited to see religious sites in Pakistan besides the literary do.

Arora’s invitation is dripping with mischief. A visit by Mann or an Indian dignitary is bound to be used for Pakistan’s propaganda purposes, something the Chief Minister cannot be unaware of. An Indian Sikh woman in her 50s from Kapurthala went missing in Pakistan after traveling as part of a group for Guru Nanak Dev’s birth anniversary in November 2025 to Nankana Sahib, Kartarpur Sahib and Darbar Sahib.

It later transpired that the woman had voluntarily stayed back and reports emerged that she had converted to Islam and married one Nasir Hussein. Should Mann formally seek to travel to Pakistan and be denied permission, the decision can easily be presented as “political” but that will not make it incorrect. Mann’s travel to Paris on the invite of a food expo lowered the dignity of his office. Going to Pakistan will be nothing short of supping with the enemy.