Pak: No bus with passports

Hours ahead of External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh's bilateral visit, Pakistan Tuesday said it was ready for the Sringagar-Muzafarabad bus link if India showed "flexibility" on Islamabad's terms of doing away with visas and passports as travel documents and restrict the bus service to Kashmiris.

"We have to see if India shows flexibility when the issue comes up for discussion between the two Foreign Ministers at their formal talks tomorrow," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told reporters.

Bus, pipeline and cricket on agenda

Asked about media reports that India had decided to do away with its demand to use Passport as identity document, Khan said positions of both sides on the bus service are well known. The service has been delayed due to "inflexibility" on the Indian side, he alleged.

On the trans-national gas pipelines from Iran and Turkmenistan, he said Pakistan has noted the recent Indian Cabinet decisions giving green signal for talks with Islamabad, Tehran, Kabul and Ashkabad.

The blurring of the LoC

"The talks are not only related to Iran pipeline but also Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan pipeline projects," he said.

Pakistan will hear the Indian stand from Singh, who is on a three-day bilateral visit, during the talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, Khan said.