By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS,
Islamabad : Notwithstanding India issuing a travel advisory against going to Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes and strained bilateral ties, Islamabad has said it has no intention of issuing a similar warning to its citizens against travelling to the neighbouring country.
“It’s India’s matter to issue a travel advisory to its citizens, but Pakistan has no such plans,” Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said.
He also said there was no change in the number of people coming to Pakistan from India after New Delhi issued its advisory, an official of the immigration department said.
He said the number of passengers coming to Pakistan from India via train, bus and air were fewer than the number of Pakistanis travelling to India. However, he said no change had been noted over the last two-three days in the number of Indians travelling to Pakistan, but declined to give the exact number of people coming to Pakistan.
The state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flies four weekly flights from Lahore to New Delhi and four from Karachi to Mumbai. A PIA official said usually less than five percent Indians travel on these flights, while others comprise Pakistanis or international travellers.
He said no seats had been cancelled for the coming week but “usually there are some no-shows that we come to know at the time of departure”.
Likewise, officials of the Pakistan Railway and bus service between Lahore and Delhi said they haven’t received any cancellation requests, either from Lahore or New Delhi.
An official of the interior ministry said they have no plan of issuing any advisory to the people traveling to India.
On the other hand, the trade activity between the two countries at the Wagha border crossing was going on as usual and there was no cancellation of scheduled consignments from either side.
“The Indian goods for Pakistan and for onward transport to Afghanistan are according to schedule and there has been no cancellation of consignments,” a customs official from the Wagha border told IANS.
Ties between the two neighbours have been strained after the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes, which India has blamed on elements based in Pakistan, and wants Islamabad to act against these groups.