EAM visits Pakistan for first time

ISLAMABAD, Jan 13 (UNI): External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived here this afternoon on a two-day visit, his first to Pakistan, and hoped that the peace process between the two countries will move forward.

Immediately after arriving at the Chaklala Airport near here, he said the peace process between the two countries should go ahead.

He was received at the airport by Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan, Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Satyabrata Paul and other senior officials of both governments.

Mukherjee, who is on his first ever visit to Pakistan, primarily to invite the Pakistani leadership for the 14th SAARC Summit in New Delhi in April, will call on President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shoukat Aziz.

He clarified that he was carrying an invite for the Pakistani Premier for the SAARC summit and not for Gen Musharraf as was being speculated.

He will later have talks with his counterpart Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri.

Mukherjee will hold talks on several issues including Kashmir and cross-border terrorism with Islamabad stressing on President Musharraf's four-point formula and New Delhi demanding reining in of terrorists.

The two sides will also discuss Siachen and Sir Creek, opening of consulates in Karachi and Mumbai, implementation of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline.

The talks are being held in the backdrop of warmth in bilateral relations that have made resolution of disputes between the two countries a reality.

Although not much is expected from today's meetings, but officials here said it would give a definite forward push to improvement in relations.

Tomorrow, Mukherjee is scheduled to meet some political leaders and later visit the ancient historical site of Taxila, on the outskirts of Islamabad, which was the seat of Mauryan empire.

Pakistan has indicated that it would relax visa restrictions for Indian tourists and raise the limit from five to 15 days.

The two countries are also likely to sign four agreements including on liberalisation of visa restrictions and reduction of nuclear risks.

Federal Minister for Tourism, Niloufer Bakhtiar, said the government was considering increasing the duration of stay of Indian tourists from five to 15 days and introducing a tourist section in the passports for the purpose.

The two sides will also set the agenda for the fourth round of the Composite Dialogue Process besides reviewing the third round of the CDP.

India has already indicated its disinterest in President Musharraf's proposal of joint management and said the joint management could be possible in matter like tourism, environment etc.

Expectations are high in Pakistan that both countries are now ready to forget past and have a new beginning.