June 11, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1427

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RAHIM YAR KHAN, June 10: A 70-year-old Pakistani visitor had to bribe an Indian official and face humiliation at the hands of authorities concerned just to get approval to visit Ludhiana in the East Punjab where his sister lived.

Mufti Shabbir Ahmad has written about his travail in a letter sent to Indian president, prime minister, CM of East Panjab and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, just to ‘tell them how the largest democracy is marred by corruption, and that the ground reality was different from the media and diplomatic hype regarding people-to-people contacts’.

Mufti, a resident of city’s Qazian locality, told Dawn that he reached Delhi on April 4 by the Samjhota Express. On his arrival, he sent an application to special branch police office seeking permission to visit Ludhiyana. He alleged that the duty-officer, Eram Parkash, demanded Rs3,000 as bribe for issuing the permission letter, but he refused to pay the amount.

Then, he said, he completed the necessary documents and visited the Delhi inquiry office after an interview at Mansingh Road, but was refused permission to visit Ludhiyana after sitting there till evening.

At last, he again went to the special branch office and got the permission after greasing the palms of Eram Parkash.

He says despite a recent Pakistan-India agreement which promises softening of visa restriction for above-65 visitors, senior citizens were being offered no such facility.

He has requested the governments of both countries to look into the matter and ‘take measures’ to get him back his money from the Indian official.