NEW DELHI, 8 September 2004 — India’s External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri yesterday announced hassle-free visas for journalists of the two countries.
“From our side, there will be free visas for journalists — come and go anywhere,” said Singh expansively at a reception organized for Kasuri by the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) at Ashok Hotel here.
“I make a promise here...I will try my best to act in sync with India,” said Kasuri.
The two ministers had originally decided not to speak at the event but were sufficiently provoked to change their minds, and what they said was music to the audience.
Their announcement came after SAFMA’s Imtiaz Alam of Pakistan criticized both countries for being miserly with visas for journalists, despite promises.
Alam said the “main culprits” in preventing free flow of information across borders in South Asia were India and Pakistan.
“Allow information to flow freely between borders. We expect much more from you,” he said.
Though Natwar had promised multiple-entry visas to Pakistani journalists to visit any part of India during his visit to Islamabad for a SAARC conference, his own experience was to the contrary, Alam said.
For his current visit, Alam said he was given a multiple-entry visa for three visits and that too only through the Wagah border.
That provoked both ministers to change their minds and speak.
Natwar, who had a quick conversation with National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit, said they would together persuade the Home Ministry to “come along with us” to issue visas freely to Pakistani journalists.
He said he would take up the matter in the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the highest security policy-making body. “There should be no difficulty in Pakistani journalists coming here and visiting any part of India.”
Kasuri noted he did not know who his minister of state was after the formation of the new government by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and said: “But whatever proposals you make, I make a promise here I will try my best to act in sync with India.”
Their announcement was greeted with loud applause by the largely journalist audience.
The event capped Kasuri’s four-day visit to India and two days of talks with Natwar to review progress in the composite dialogue process the two countries have initiated to normalize ties.
India and Pakistan traded charges on Kashmir during the talks, but agreed to keep peace talks going despite sharp differences over the divided territory that has thrust them into war twice in the past half century.
Foreign ministers of the nuclear-armed South Asian rivals pledged to ease tensions in the Himalayan region and push ahead with steps to open up greater contacts between people of the two countries.
“We both are sincerely committed to carrying forward the composite dialogue,” Natwar told reporters.
Unlike in the past when the deep divide over Kashmir prevented the two sides from agreeing on cooperation in other areas, both leaders agreed to set aside their disagreements and inch forward toward a broader engagement.
“Even modest progress is worthy of respect. And we have made progress in the past few days,” Natwar said.
Kasuri also showed optimism about the on-going dialogue including Kashmir. He said, “It is a difficult issue. India has its own views and Pakistan has its own. But if this dialogue continues ...I am hopeful that there will be a way out of this.”
“There is no other way out. What else can we do? We have fought wars and now talks are the only way ... wars should not be fought ... We should solve the issue of Kashmir only through talks.”
However, both the leaders had no significant agreements to announce at the end of their talks. They revealed clear differences in approach and reverted to mutual recriminations over Kashmir.
