Scrap visa regime, say Pak delegates
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 28
The 10th World Punjabi Conference opened with the visiting Pakistani delegates giving a clarion call for the abolition of the visa regime within the SAARC region.

As emotions reigned supreme at hotel Shivalikview, venue of the conference that drew a mammoth response, Pakistani participants demanded an immediate end to the visa rule or its immediate relaxation.

There was also broad consensus on the establishment of a free-trade area between India and Pakistan, besides the evolution of a common tariff wall and a common market against the rest of the world. After Prof S.S. Gill from the Department of Economics, Punjabi University, Patiala, suggested the opening of Wagah and Hussainiwala borders to facilitate free trade between India and Pakistan, many delegates seconded him.

The occasion was also made use of to announce the establishment of a Vishwa Virsa Kendra (World Heritage Centre) at Patiala. It was also announced that two Chairs in the name of Hazrat Mian Meer, who laid the foundation of Harmandar Sahib, would be instituted in universities in India and Pakistan. Mr Ashwini Sekhri, Minister of Culture, Punjab, said the Chairs would be funded by the Punjab Government, which has also given Rs 5 lakh for the current conference.

Amid references to the European Union (EU), which allows free movement within EU countries, Pakistani delegates said lack of access was the principal reason behind the delayed peace process. All for scrapping inflexible rules that divide hearts, they unanimously demanded a burial of the visa regime. "If that is impracticable, let us liberalise visas and broaden their scope so that they don't remain city-specific. It is time we had a multiple visa system," said Mr Fakhar Zaman, chairman, World Punjabi Congress, which has been the force behind all previous conferences.

Other famed delegates like Punjabi writer and former Pakistani MP Afzal Randhawa, filmstar Ghulam Mohinuddin and writer Parveen Atif also appealed to the two governments to divert attention from the show of nuclear strength to integrated solutions of common problems like poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.

The inaugural session also saw dialogue on the issue of promoting Punjabi language and culture, especially in West Punjab. Admitting to the decline in the popularity of the Punjabi language in Pakistan, Mr Fakhar Zaman said efforts were being made to arrest the trend. Representations have been made suggesting that postgraduate Punjabi degrees in Pakistan should only be awarded to students who cleared a paper in Gurmukhi Punjabi. In recent times, the demand for introduction of Punjabi at the primary level has also been gaining ground. The language is already being taught as an elective subject at the postgraduate level.