Indian Punjab CM Expresses Desire to Attend Punjabi Conference in Lahore

Indian Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has expressed his desire to attend the fourth International Punjabi Conference in Lahore, jokingly questioning how he could be allowed to visit Pakistan when he was not permitted to travel to France and Japan.

Speaking during a session of the Punjab Assembly in India, Mann said he had received an invitation to attend the conference, scheduled to be held in Lahore on November 27, 28 and 29, 2026.

Mann said he wanted to be part of the event. Referring to restrictions on his foreign travel, he remarked, “They do not allow me to go to France and Japan. How will they allow me to go to Pakistan?”

Mann added that poets and other participants from Indian Punjab would travel to Lahore for the conference, expressing his own wish to join them.

The remarks prompted a light-hearted exchange in the assembly, with the Speaker and other lawmakers jokingly expressing their willingness to accompany Mann if he received permission to visit Pakistan.

The fourth International Punjabi Conference aims to promote the Punjabi language, literature and culture, highlighting the shared cultural heritage of Indian and Pakistani Punjab. The two regions have longstanding linguistic and literary connections, particularly through Punjabi poetry, music and folk traditions.

Mann’s remarks have drawn attention to the potential for cultural exchanges between the two sides, despite political and travel-related restrictions.