Pakistan Says It Will Consider a Visa for Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to Attend Lahore Conference

Pakistan has said it would consider giving a visa to Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of India’s Punjab state, if he wishes to travel to Lahore for the World Punjabi Conference later this month. The offer came from Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Friday, 6 November 2026 — but it also made one thing clear: a Pakistani visa is only half the journey. Whether Mann can actually travel depends on permission from the Indian government, and that is a separate matter.

The announcement has drawn attention on both sides of the border because high-level political visits between India and Pakistan have become rare. Relations between the two countries have been strained since the military confrontation in May 2025, and even the Kartarpur Corridor, the visa-free route for Sikh pilgrims, has been closed to travellers from the Indian side for six months. Against that background, a cultural conference in Lahore has unexpectedly become a small test of whether the two Punjabs can still talk to each other.

What Pakistan said

Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Sajjad Haider Khan, spoke about the matter during his weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Friday. He was asked whether Mann would be allowed to visit Pakistan for the conference.

“The government would consider issuing him a visa if he wished to visit the country,” Khan said, according to the Press Trust of India. He added, however, that “whether the Indian government permits him to travel is an entirely separate matter.”

In other words, Pakistan has opened the door, but it has not promised a visa, and it cannot decide the question on its own. Mann has not yet said whether he will formally apply. What Pakistan has offered is to look at his application favourably if he chooses to travel.

The careful wording matters. Pakistan did not announce that a visa has been granted. It said it would “consider” one. That is the normal language governments use before a formal application arrives. It is a positive signal, not a final decision.

Who is Bhagwant Mann?

Bhagwant Singh Mann is the 17th chief minister of Punjab, the Indian state that shares a border, a language and a deep history with Pakistan’s Punjab province. He has held the post since 16 March 2022, when his party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), won the Punjab state election.

Mann is one of India’s most unusual politicians. Before entering politics full time, he was a well-known comedian, actor and singer in Punjabi entertainment. He first became famous for his comedy performances and later moved into politics, serving as a Member of Parliament before becoming chief minister. His background as a performer still shapes his public style: he is known for direct, plain-spoken remarks, often delivered with humour.

That plain speaking is part of why this story began. On 23 October, Mann told the Punjab Assembly in Chandigarh that he had been invited to the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore. Then he openly questioned whether he would be allowed to go.

“They don’t let me go to Japan and France; how will they allow me to go to Pakistan?” he asked, according to WION. The remark was aimed at the Indian central government, which must clear foreign travel by a state chief minister. Mann was suggesting that if Delhi blocks his trips to friendly countries, a trip to Pakistan would be even harder to approve.

His comment put the question in the public domain — and two weeks later, Pakistan answered it.

What is the World Punjabi Conference?

The World Punjabi Conference is a cultural gathering built around the Punjabi language, its literature and its shared heritage. It is scheduled to be held in Lahore from 27 to 29 November 2026, and it is expected to bring together writers, poets, scholars and cultural figures from different countries.

For Punjabi speakers, the conference is about more than books and poetry. Punjabi is spoken on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, and Lahore and Amritsar, the two great cities of Punjab, sit only about 50 kilometres apart — yet they are separated by one of the world’s most tightly controlled borders. A conference that celebrates a shared language therefore carries a meaning that goes beyond culture. It is a reminder that the two Punjabs, divided by Partition in 1947, still share a language, music, food and family ties.

Mann’s invitation fits that theme. As the chief minister of Indian Punjab, he is one of the most prominent political voices of Punjabi identity in India. His presence in Lahore would give the conference a political weight it might otherwise not have.

Why the visit is not simple

If Mann decides to go, he will need two separate permissions, and neither is automatic.

First, he needs a Pakistani visa. Pakistan has now said it would consider his application. That is the first step, and it appears to be the easier one.

Second, he needs political clearance from the Indian government. Under India’s rules, a state chief minister needs the central government’s approval for foreign travel. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office are involved in such decisions, and permission can be refused without a public explanation.

This is the real obstacle. Mann himself flagged it in his October remarks, and Pakistan’s Foreign Office repeated it: the Indian government’s decision is “an entirely separate matter.”

There is also a political calculation in Delhi. The Indian government may not want to be seen allowing a chief minister from an opposition party — the AAP is not part of India’s ruling coalition — to make a high-profile visit to Pakistan at a time when relations are tense. On the other hand, refusing permission for a cultural visit could also draw criticism. For now, Delhi has not said anything publicly about the matter.

The bigger picture: India-Pakistan ties and Kartarpur

To understand why a simple conference invitation has become news, it helps to look at the state of India-Pakistan relations.

Ties between the two countries worsened sharply in 2025. In April that year, an attack on tourists in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, was followed by Indian military strikes on targets in Pakistan in May, under an operation India called Operation Sindoor. Pakistan responded, and the two countries fought a short but intense conflict before a ceasefire.

Since then, cross-border movement has been heavily restricted. The clearest example is the Kartarpur Corridor. The corridor is a visa-free passage that connects Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan — the shrine where Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, spent his final years. It opened in 2019 and was celebrated as a rare success story in India-Pakistan relations.

But pilgrim movement through the corridor from the Indian side has remained suspended since 7 May 2025, when India launched its strikes after the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan has said it is ready to facilitate pilgrim visits once the restrictions are lifted, but the corridor has stayed closed.

Against this background, even a small opening matters. A visa offer for a chief minister is not a peace deal, and it does not reopen the corridor or restore trade. But it is a sign that cultural contact is still possible, even when politics is frozen.

What happens next

Three things need to happen before Mann can stand on a stage in Lahore on 27 November.

First, Mann has to decide that he wants to go and say so publicly. So far, he has only spoken about the invitation and his doubts. He has not confirmed that he will apply for a visa.

Second, Pakistan would need to process his application. Its Foreign Office has already signalled that it would look at the request favourably, so this step is unlikely to be the problem.

Third, and most important, the Indian government would need to give him political clearance to travel. This is the step nobody can predict. If Delhi refuses, the visit cannot happen, whatever Pakistan decides.

The clock is also ticking. The conference begins on 27 November, less than three weeks away. Visa applications and government clearances take time, so a decision would need to come soon if the visit is to go ahead.

If Mann does travel, it would be one of the most high-profile cross-border political visits in years, and it would be watched closely in both countries. If he does not, the episode will still have shown something useful: that even in a difficult moment, the two Punjabs can still find a reason to talk.

Frequently asked questions

Has Bhagwant Mann received a Pakistani visa?

No. Pakistan has said it would consider issuing him a visa if he wishes to visit. No visa has been granted yet, and Mann has not confirmed that he will apply.

Can Mann travel to Pakistan without Delhi’s permission?

No. As a state chief minister, he needs political clearance from the Indian government for foreign travel. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has stressed that this is a separate matter from the visa.

What is the World Punjabi Conference?

It is a cultural gathering celebrating the Punjabi language, literature and culture, scheduled to be held in Lahore from 27 to 29 November 2026. Writers, poets and scholars from different countries are expected to attend.

What is the Kartarpur Corridor?

It is a visa-free route that allows Sikh pilgrims to travel from Dera Baba Nanak in India’s Punjab to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan. It has been closed to pilgrims from the Indian side since 7 May 2025.

Why does this visit matter?

Because high-level political visits between India and Pakistan have become rare since relations worsened in 2025. A chief minister attending a cultural event in Lahore would be a small but visible sign that contact between the two countries has not stopped completely.

Conclusion

Pakistan’s offer to consider a visa for Bhagwant Mann is a small story with a larger meaning. On its own, it is a routine diplomatic answer to a routine question: a foreign leader was invited to a conference, and the host country said it would look at his visa application. But in the context of India-Pakistan relations in 2026, even a small opening stands out.

The decision now rests with two people who have not yet spoken: Mann himself, who must decide whether to apply, and the Indian government, which must decide whether to let him travel. The conference opens in Lahore on 27 November. By then, we will know whether this cultural invitation became a real visit — or just another reminder of how hard it still is to cross the border between the two Punjabs.

Sources

• The Times of India, “If he wishes to come: Pakistan open to considering visa for Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s Lahore visit”, 6 November 2026: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/if-he-wishes-to-come-pakistan-open-to-considering-visa-for-punjab-cm-bhagwant-manns-lahore-visit/articleshow/135631946.cms
• WION, “Pakistan says it will consider issuing visa to Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann if he wishes to visit”, 7 November 2026: https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pakistan-says-it-will-consider-issuing-visa-to-punjab-cm-bhagwant-mann-if-he-wishes-to-visit-1794028005621/amp
• News18, “If He Wished To…: Islamabad’s Response To Bhagwant Mann’s Query Over Pakistan Visit”, 7 November 2026: https://www.news18.com/world/if-he-wished-to-islamabads-response-to-bhagwant-manns-query-over-pakistan-visit-ws-l-10416831.html
• The Tribune (India), “Pakistan says will consider issuing Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann visa to visit country”, 7 November 2026: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/pakistan/pakistan-says-will-consider-issuing-punjab-cm-bhagwant-mann-visa-to-visit-country/
• Moneycontrol, “If he wishes to visit: Pakistan’s response to Bhagwant Mann’s query over Pakistan visit”, 7 November 2026: https://www.moneycontrol.com/world/if-he-wishes-to-visit-pakistan-s-response-to-bhagwant-mann-s-query-over-pakistan-visit-article-14074464.html/amp
• The Sunday Guardian, “Pak open to giving visa to Bhagwant Mann for Lahore conference”, 7 November 2026: https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/pak-open-to-giving-visa-to-bhagwant-mann-for-lahore-conference-319113/
• Wikipedia, “Bhagwant Mann” (biographical details): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagwant_Mann

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.