NEW DELHI, 1 October 2005 — The Indian Cabinet yesterday approved a series of measures to push for peace with Pakistan ahead of a four-day visit by External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh to Islamabad beginning Oct. 2.
The Cabinet approved proposals that would make it easier for Pakistanis to get visas and result in faster exchange of prisoners.
“Earlier, there was no timeframe by which the consular service (to prisoners on each side) would be made available,” Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said after the Cabinet meeting. “Now after arrest, within three months, the consular services will have to be made available.”
India and Pakistan, which have fought three wars, swapped hundreds of civilian prisoners last month as part of peace moves launched two years ago. But scores of others remain in jails in the two countries, most of them fishermen who strayed into the other country’s waters or people who had accidentally crossed the border.
Mukherjee said New Delhi expected both sides would agree to exchange lists of prisoners twice a year.
“Similarly, the visa agreement is also being liberalized including (for) those who come for (medical) treatment from Pakistan,” Mukherjee said without elaborating.
Natwar leaves on Sunday for talks with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. The two ministers will review the progress made in the composite dialogue and hold discussions on third round of talks beginning in January.
During Natwar’s visit, the India-Pakistan Joint Commission, stalled for 16 years, will be revived. The commission last met in 1989. The decision to revive the commission, which was established in 1983, was taken during President Pervez Musharraf’s India visit in April this year.
To ensure that this commission’s revival is not reduced to a symbolic affair, representatives of six ministries will accompany Natwar. These include the ministries of external affairs, home, telecom, commerce, information and broadcasting and tourism.
Natwar and Kasuri may also discuss the restructuring of this commission. Revival of the commission is expected to further facilitate normalization of relations between the two countries and remove irritants in resolution of the Kashmir and other issues.
Natwar and Kasuri are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on alerting each other of missile tests.
The peace process between the two countries apparently hit a rough patch after a highly anticipated summit between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf this month in New York failed to announce any breakthrough.
