Bus returns with one Pakistani

NEW DELHI: Only one passenger from Lahore came in the much-hyped friendship bus at Ambedkar stadium terminal on Tuesday. Four Indian journalists and the DTC team of drivers, security personnel and a liaison officer accompanied the lone passenger.
Sultan Mahmood, a resident of Lahore, said: ‘‘My visa was issued a day later — than my wife and children.They came here yesterday on the first trip itself. I was delayed by a day.’’
His wife, Khaleda and sons, 10-year-old Ehab and six-year-old Woheeb had come on Friday evening. ‘‘Since my wife belongs to Delhi and is an Indian national, she and my children got the visas without a hitch. But my visa had a problem as I am a Pakistani national,’’ 37-year-old Mahmood, who works as a electronic technician in Madina (Saudi Arabia), said.
His wife’s family stays in Inderlok in West Delhi. Brother-in-law Abdul Wahid Qureshi, who came to receive him, said: ‘‘The entire family is waiting to see him. We will meet him after three years.’’
‘‘Getting a visa is a problem as the authorities are trying to verify whether the passengers have a genuine relative here in India,’’ Mahmood said.
Even DTC officials were surprised. ‘‘The bus had cent-percent occupancy earlier. The visa mechanism seems to have become more stringent now.’’
Officials say passengers, who come for bookings, have been complaining of visa problems. ‘‘There are many who ask us to book the tickets before they get the visa. They say they will get the visa but since we know that there are problems we do not issue tickets till we see their visa,’’ said an official.