M A I N   N E W S

India relaxes visa regime for Pakistanis
Progress in Indo-Pak talks

Islamabad, December 27
Taking the peace process forward, India today unilaterally announced relaxation of the visa regime for Pakistani nationals above 65 years and below 12 years and extended free medical treatment to another batch of Pakistani children with serious heart ailments.

It also offered student visas to Pakistanis on case-by-case basis for studying in reputed Indian educational institutions.

These decisions were announced by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran at a press conference after day one of the two-day talks with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar here.

The two sides reviewed progress made during meetings on control of narcotics, Sir Creek, Khokrapar- Munnabao rail link, Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and exchanged views on Baglihar project, the problems of fishermen, reopening of consulates in Karachi and Mumbai and the issue of prisoners.

In a separate briefing on the talks, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said, “While in some areas, specially in the realm of confidence-building, forward movement had been satisfactory, in others such as J and K and peace and security, more efforts were required to be made to find solutions”.

Mr Khokhar and Mr Saran had “in-depth” discussions on peace and security and “in this regard proposals for elaborating and implementing the CBMs in both nuclear and conventional fields were discussed.”

Mr Saran announced the extension of free medical facilities for Pakistani children suffering from cardiac ailments in Indian medical institutions.

Earlier, India had given free medical treatment to 40 Pakistani children. Now, 20 more children would be accorded such a facility.

Asked about Pakistan’s response to this, he said this was a unilateral decision to be implemented by India and New Delhi would appreciate any reciprocal gesture by Pakistan.

The visa relaxation proposals would be notified as soon as arrangements at the Wagah border were made, he said.

Contending that cross-border terrorism had not stopped, Mr Saran said Islamabad must seriously implement its assurance that Pakistani soil would not be allowed to be used for acts of terrorism against India.

Mr Saran said the Pakistani side was told that India was seriously interested in resolving the Kashmir issue but without setting any artificial time frames.

The implementation of a commitment given on January 6 this year by President Pervez Musharraf to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to prevent any Pakistan territory to be used for acts of terrorism against India was fundamental to the progress of the ongoing peace process, he said.

“This, for us, is a very fundamental assurance and its implementation is critical to successfully take the peace process forward. We hope and trust that this solemn assurance will be implemented,” he said.

Accompanied by a high-powered Indian delegation, Mr Saran held talks with Mr Khokhar on the first day of the second round of the Composite Dialogue process on issues relating to peace and security and nuclear and conventional CBMs. The two officials will discuss tomorrow the contentious issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Saran conveyed India’s commitment to resolve the Kashmir issue by seriously pursuing the confidence- building process.

He said President Musharraf had stated that there was perhaps a “trust deficit” between the two countries which needed to be addressed. “We believe that precisely in order to address this trust deficit we need to be engaged in confidence-building,” he said.

The Indian side also emphasised that any understanding on the J and K issue would need to be supported by public opinion on both sides.

Replying to a question, Mr Saran also firmly rejected any need for third party mediation or facilitation on Kashmir. — PTI