YOGA IN PAKISTAN : Pakistan denies visa to Indian yoga instructors

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for it in the United Nations, 21 June was set aside as the International Day of Yoga, in record time and the Indian government is going all out to ensure the celebration of the first ever event is memorable worldwide.

Already, there are plans underway to celebrate the day in a big way not just in India, but all over the world. More than 100 US cities will organise a Yogathon on the day, according to the Overseas Volunteer for a Better India (OVBI), the lead organisers of the event.

Spiritual guru Ravi Shankar is also expected to lead a special yoga event in the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels. Closer home, PM Modi  will perform yoga at a public event along with some of his ministers in Delhi.

Representational Image. ReutersRepresentational Image. Reuters

However, it seems that Indian diplomats in Pakistan will not be able to participate in the International Yoga Day events as Pakistan has refused to grant visas to yoga instructors, according to a report by Indian Express.

The government had issued a directive to all Indian embassies and high commissions overseas about the celebration of International Yoga Day on 21 June. Subsequently, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad asked for a yoga instructor.

However, the yoga instructor approved by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations was denied visa by the Pakistan High Commission. This wasn't the only instance as a second ICCR-approved instructor was denied a Pakistan visa as well, continues the report.

The Pakistan High Commission, however, claimed that the visa application of the second yoga instructor is still 'under consideration', according to the Indian Express.

This development has not gone down well with the Indian officials. The Indian Express quoted an official as saying, "“We were hoping that yoga exercises like Dhanurasana (bow pose), Marjariasana (cat stretch), Matsyasana (fish pose) and Setu Bandhasana (bridge pose) will help the Indian diplomats staying in Pakistan to deal with stress. Refusal to the second teacher is a setback."

With the event less than 20 days away, it remains to be seen whether an Indian yoga instructor will be able to travel to Pakistan or not.

views of subramaniam swami on pakistanis doing yoga

Yoga is as much a part of Sanatan Dharma as
Jihad is of Islam or Inquisitions is of Christianity.
You can't separate these just because you want political correctness.
However, the benefits of Yoga far far outweigh the loss incurred by you by letting go of your religious ego.
It's time we concede that Sanatan Dharma is truly a humanitarian way of life, as opposed to whatever 'religion' rituals and dogmas we've been asked to follow by some obscure book with one supreme 'Gawd'.
So if we want universal brotherhood, peace and harmony .. Yoga is the first stepping stone to the path of Sanatan Dharma.
Religion causes wars, Dharma leads to peace,
and bliss for eternity.

47 Islamic nations are going to observe International Yoga Day including Pakistan. However, Indian muslims (who are considered Hindu by Arabs) have taken it upon their shoulders to preserve the purity of their endangered Islam. They have decided to call it Anti-Islamic just like Vande Mataram or Sanskrit.

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