Pakistan, India ink accord on liberal visa regime

Pakistan and India signed an agreement to relax visa regime for its citizens under which traders from the two countries will be allowed to visit ten cities while tourists will be given visa for five cities. Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna signed the agreement here on Saturday. Under the new regime, ordinary tourists from the two sides will be given visas for five cities. The citizens above 65 years will be issued arrival visas for 45 days. Visas on arrivals can also be issued on Wagah and Attari borders. Both the countries also agreed to issue multiple visas to each other’s traders for one year to visit ten cities. The two countries will also issue triple-entry visa to artists from both the countries under the new liberalized regime. Both the countries have also agreed to enhance air and sea travel routes besides restoring Mumbai-Karachi sea link. Earlier, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Indian counterpart held talks on wide-ranging issues including the new liberalized visa regime. Both the leaders are scheduled to address a joint press conference later in the evening. Krishna’s visit is part of ongoing composite dialogues between the nuclear-armed nations. His visit may lead to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Pakistan later this year. The formal Pak-India dialogue commenced today with one-on-one meeting between Khar and Krishna here at the Foreign Office. Later on, the two ministers were joined by their respective officials.