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| Monday, 20 September 2004 |
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India eases visa rules for Pakistanis in peace gesture NEW DELHI, Sunday (Reuters) India has eased visa rules for some Pakistani nationals as part of unilateral efforts to nudge forward a sluggish peace process between the two nuclear-armed rivals, the foreign ministry said on Saturday. Both Indian and Pakistani nationals face a series of bureaucratic restrictions if they want to travel to the other country. New Delhi has been calling for greater "people-to-people" contact but Islamabad wants to keep peace efforts focussed on Kashmir, a dispute region that has sparked two of the three wars between the neighbours. India's new visa regime eases restrictions on accredited Pakistani journalists, academics, doctors accompanying patients to India, and people aged over 65. "Naturally, we hope the government of Pakistan will take similar measures," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told a news conference. The changes to the visa rules include exempting select groups of Pakistanis from the requirement of reporting to police stations while in India and allowing embassies and consulates to issue visas without reference to the foreign ministry headquarters. Consulates can issue multiple-entry visas for journalists with three years accreditation and academics. India has been pressing for greater economic, cultural and people-to-people contact as the two nations move to discuss their bitter differences over Kashmir. |
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