With Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri's visit to New Delhi less than a week away, India and Pakistan are yet to resolve their differences on a liberalised visa regime as Islamabad has rejected a number of proposals from New Delhi in this regard.
Though Kasuri and his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee had said during their meeting in Islamabad last month that both sides would finalise the new visa pact before Kasuri's visit to India on February 20, officials said no headway has been made yet towards clinching the agreement.
Among the Indian proposals rejected by Pakistan is one for visas on arrival and another on creating a special visa category for pilgrims and students.
Kasuri will travel to New Delhi for a three-day visit to take part in a meeting of the India-Pakistan Joint Commission and to hold talks with Mukherjee on issues related to the bilateral peace process.
Officials in Islamabad said the Indian side is waiting for Pakistan to respond to a comparative assessment of proposals from both sides that was presented to Kasuri during his talks with Mukherjee.
They pointed out that Islamabad has "virtually struck down or watered down" New Delhi's proposals to liberalise what is considered the "most regressive visa regime" hampering the process of enhancing people-to-people contacts between the two countries.
Ahead of Mukherjee's trip, Kasuri had said Pakistan was ready to sign a new liberalised visa pact during the visit. He was apparently surprised when it was pointed out during talks that Pakistan had rejected India's proposals made in 2005, including the introduction of pilgrimage and student visas and the issuance of visas on arrival.
© 2024 Rediff.com -