Indo-Pak tensions come in way of wedding

An impassioned plea by an Indian bride-to-be urging authorities to issue a visa to her Pakistani bridesmaid has gone viral on social media amid worsening ties between the neighbouring countries.

Journalist Purvi Thacker, who is set to get married in Mumbai in December, poured her heart out Tuesday on Facebook after her best friend Sarah Munir's visa application was rejected by the Indian consulate.

"Never did wars, religion, shared history, nationality or even cricket matches come between us," Thacker, a New York-based freelance journalist, wrote in a blog.

It was not until Munir's visa application was denied "that we were reminded that politics of hate and fear will create differences even where there are none among ordinary people like us.

"Being friends and being there for each other should not be this hard just because we were born on different sides of the borders," Thacker said.

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads since their independence from Britain in 1947 and have fought three wars, including two of the divided territory of Kashmir which both countries claim as their own in full.