Pakistani in favor of Indian walking for Haj, approached Supreme Court for a transit visa

A man from Pakistan approached the Supreme Court on Wednesday to help an Indian on foot for Haj. He challenged the decision of the Lahore High Court in the Supreme Court, in which the High Court had rejected the petition seeking a transit visa for the 29-year-old Indian. The citizen of India had sought a transit visa to enter Pakistan. Indian wants to travel on foot to Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the Haj pilgrimage.

The argument of the petitioner and Lahore resident Sarwar Taj

The petitioner and Lahore resident Sarwar Taj argued in the petition that the way the Pakistani government issued visas to many Indian Sikhs during the birth anniversary of Baba Guru Nanak Dev. Visas are issued on other occasions to Hindus to visit holy places in the country, similarly, Indian Muslims are also issued visas so that they can reach Saudi Arabia on foot through Pakistan for the Haj pilgrimage.

what is the whole matter?

Shihab Chhotoor set out on an 8640-km journey from his hometown in Kerala to Mecca in June 2023 to perform Haj. He wanted to reach Mecca for Haj in 2023 after traveling to India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait. However, he was stopped by Pakistan's immigration officials at the Wagah border in October as he did not have a visa. Shihab requested the immigration officials that he was going to perform Haj on foot as he had already traveled 3000 kilometers and should be allowed to enter the country on humanitarian grounds. Last month, the Lahore High Court rejected an appeal filed by Sarwar on Shihab's behalf.

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