The seventh annual edition of Goa Arts & Literature Festival (GALF) will go without any Pakistani participation despite the desire of the organisers to invite them.
The festival, organised by the International Centre Goa from December 8 to 11, will focus on Indian regional literature, and participants will include writers from the Northeast and Kashmir.
“Yes, the Pakistanis are having visa hassles. We will definitely miss them a lot,” writer and columnist Vivek Menezes told The Hindu on behalf of the organisers on Tuesday.
He recalled how a senior journalist of Goan origin from Pakistan, Cyril Almeida, who was at the centre of a row over a column in Dawn , was one of the greatest attractions of last GALF. Asked if the controversy over the demand to ban Pakistani artistes would be discussed, Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer Damodar Mauzo said that the organisers would not have any special session.
