Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had told the Punjab Assembly that he was invited to the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore and wanted to attend, but doubted the Centre would give him permission. Pakistan's Foreign Office has now given its answer from Islamabad: there is no bar on his visa from Pakistan's side. Read the earlier story: Mann invited to Lahore conference
Pakistan has not suspended issuing visas to Indian citizens, and there is no ban on granting a Pakistani visa to the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said at the weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Friday, November 6. Pakistan Observer, Pakistan Point and Pakistan TV all reported the statement from the same briefing.
Source: Pakistan Observer, Nov 6, 2026
Khan was answering questions about Mann's reported wish to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore. He said Pakistan has not suspended visa issuance to Indian nationals, and that so far this year visas have been granted to more than 4,000 Sikh pilgrims to visit Pakistan. He emphasised that Pakistan remains committed to facilitating followers of all religions in visiting their sacred sites.
Source: Pakistan Point, Nov 6, 2026
The spokesperson said there are no specific restrictions regarding a potential visit to Pakistan by the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab, and that Islamabad would consider a visa application from him. However, he noted, the matter of Mann's permission to travel from India is a separate issue — a decision for New Delhi, not Islamabad. No visa has been issued to Mann, and no visit has been confirmed.
Source: Pakistan Observer, Nov 6, 2026
The Kartarpur point
At the same briefing, Khan said the Kartarpur Corridor — the visa-free route to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the shrine associated with Guru Nanak — has the capacity to facilitate up to 5,000 pilgrims a day and is ready on Pakistan's side to reopen once India lifts its suspension of the facility, which has been in place since May 2025. Pakistan TV's report of the briefing also put the 2025 figure at 9,318 visas issued to Indian pilgrims, including 248 to Hindu pilgrims, with more than 300 visas issued to Hindu pilgrims so far this year.
Source: Pakistan TV, Nov 6, 2026
How this started
Mann had told the Punjab Assembly last month that the organisers of the fourth World Punjabi Conference — scheduled for November 27 to 29 in Lahore — had invited him and offered to host him, and that he wanted to go because, in his words, the roots and culture on both sides of the Punjab border are one. In the same remarks he took a swipe at the BJP-led Centre, saying it had not allowed him to travel even to countries like France and Japan, and asking how it would allow him to go to Pakistan. Friday's statement from Islamabad is the first official Pakistani response in that exchange: the visa door, Pakistan says, is open — the permission question now sits entirely with New Delhi.
Source: Inshorts, Nov 6, 2026
The briefing also touched on a separate India-related item: Khan said Pakistan has received an invitation from India to participate in a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in New Delhi from November 20 to 22, and that a decision on Pakistan's participation will be made by the country's leadership after consultations with the relevant institutions.
Source: Pakistan Observer, Nov 6, 2026
There has been no response yet from the Punjab government or from India's Ministry of External Affairs to Friday's statement. Whether Mann formally applies for a visa, and whether the Centre grants him political clearance to travel, will decide whether a sitting Indian Punjab chief minister visits Lahore for the conference later this month.