NAVEENA GHANATE
naveena.ghanate@gmail.com
Hyderabad
The Miss World contest in Hyderabad, scheduled in May, will not have contestants from Pakistan.
While nearly 140 countries are likely to participate in the international beauty pageant, Pakistan is not among them. Principal Secretary Tourism Smita Sabharwal confirmed, “We do not have them (Pakistan) as participants.”
After the Pahalgam attack, India has cut diplomatic ties with Pakistan. Hyderabad will host the 72nd ‘Miss World 2025’ event from May 7 to 31.
With contestants from all over the world arriving in the city, the spotlight is also on the event’s security arrangements. Addressing concerns, Smita assured that robust measures are already in place. “We have a detailed security plan, with all levels of security, tagging all individual participants and their safety. It’s been put into operation,” she said.
It may be mentioned here that India decided that Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas. Any Pakistani national currently in India has been asked to leave India.
India withdrew its defence attachés from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. These posts in the respective High Commissions are now deemed as annulled.
