More visas for Pak nationals

New Delhi has decided to grant more number of visas to Pakistani nationals in favour of facilitating the stalled Track-II process as part of...

New Delhi has decided to grant more number of visas to Pakistani nationals in favour of facilitating the stalled Track-II process as part of the broader objective to encourage people-to-people contact between the two countries.

According to South Block officials, India is at present granting 15 visas a day to Pakistani nationals. Taking the peace initiatives outlined by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee forward, the Government will be increasing this number to 25.

With the Indian High Commission at Islamabad still working at half its assigned strength, official sources said, it was not practically feasible to make a drastic increase in the number of visas being issued in a day. It is understood that at the peak of India-Pakistan relations 300 visas were being issued daily, a figure which still appears a distance away.

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While working out ways and means to translate PM’s words into actions, New Delhi is clear that their implementation will be calibrated according to Pakistan’s action on ground to permanently end cross-border terrorism and dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism on its soil.

Concrete steps by Islamabad to ensure peace on the Line of Control and ending its support to terrorism in J-K will be the yardstick by which New Delhi plans to announce steps in the areas outlined by Vajpayee. The PM has marked out three broad areas — enhancing people-to-people contact, cultural exchange and economic cooperation.

South Block officials emphasised that the Government has adopted a slow and cautious approach as knee-jerk declarations run the risk of derailing the entire process.