New India-Pakistan Liberalized Visa Pact: Step To Boost Bilateral Ties

India and Pakistan have signed the much-awaited liberalized visa agreement, introducing for the first time group tourist and pilgrim visas, separate visa for businessmen and visa on arrival for those over 65 years of age.

The new pact, signed between External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, replaces a 38-year-old restrictive visa agreement and will pave the way for time-bound visa approval and greater people to people contacts and boost trade. While there was no time-frame for issuance of non-diplomatic visas, the new pact says that visa has to be issued with a period of not exceeding 45 days of application.

Terms and Benefits

Under the new regime, one can visit five places instead of the three at present and those above 65 years of age and children below 12 years of age and "eminent" businessmen are exempted from police reporting.

Under the category of visitor visa, earlier only single entry visa for three months used to be issued for meeting relatives, friends, business or other legitimate purpose. Moreover, visa could be only issued for longer period not exceeding one year if owing to the nature of work or business.

Under the new pact, single entry visa is to be issued for six months but stay should not exceed three months at a time and for five places.

Under a new Category II, a visitor visa for a maximum five specified places may be issued for a longer period, up to two years with multiple entries to senior citizens (those above 65 years), spouses of a national of one country married to a person of another country and children below 12 years of age accompanying parents as given earlier.

The new group tourist visa will be issued for not less than 10 people and not more than 50 people. This visa will be valid for 30 days and will have to be applied through tour operators, registered by the two governments.

New Group Tourist Visa

The new Group Tourist visa will be issued for not less than 10 people and not more than 50 people. This visa will be valid for 30 days and will have to be applied through tour operators, registered by the two governments.

The Group Tourist visa facility will also be available to students of educational institutions of both countries. However, this will be a tourist visa only and not for seeking admission in educational institutions of either country. There are two categories for Business visa. Businessmen with an income of Pakistan Rupees half million or equivalent per annum or annual turnover/gross sale of Pakistan Rupees three million or equivalent will be given one year business visa, with five places for up to four entries.

In Category II, businessmen with an income of at least Pakistan Rupees five million or equivalent per annum or turnover of Pakistan Rupees thirty million or equivalent per annum will be given one year multiple entry business visas for Upton ten places, with exemption from police reporting.

The visa shall specify that the period of stay of the businessman at a time shall not exceed 30 days. The maximum time taken in processing of a business visa will not exceed more than five weeks.

Visits to Religious Shrines

In what would be a real joy for people from both sides who want to visit religious places across the border, Pilgrim visas will be issued to those intending to visit religious shrines as per the 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, or any future revision to the Protocol.

Such visas will need to be applied at least 45 days before the commencement of the intended tour. The visas will be issued at least ten days before the commencement of travel. These visas will be issued for a single entry, restricted to 15 days validity and would be non-extendable.

Under the new pact, persons of more than 65 years of age will be given visa on arrival at Attari/Wagha checkpoint for 45 days. This visa will be non-extendable and non-convertible.

Earlier, people had to enter and exit through the same route and have to use same mode of travel for onward and return journey. Exemptions were made on case to case basis. However, under the new scheme, people can enter and exit from different check posts and change in mode of travel will also be permitted.

Checkpoints for Traveling by Air

However, this is subject to the exception that Exit from Wagah/Attari, by road (on Foot) cannot be accepted, unless the entry was also by foot via Attari/Wagah. The checkpoints for those traveling by air has changed. While earlier, one could fly in at Mumbai, Delhi and Amritsar, under the new pact, one can fly in at Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

With respect to police registration, the new pact says that bona fide businessmen, not in exemption from police reporting (EPR) category, may depute their authorized representatives for reporting.

The new visa agreement was supposed to be signed in May during the Home/Interior Secretary-levels talks held here but got postponed after Pakistan said it wanted to sign at political level.

Greater Understanding

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has said the time has come for India and Pakistan to show greater understanding of each other’s concerns and sensitivities and to “move beyond reiteration of their positions to more substantive results” in the peace process.

He said that finding amicable and just solutions to resolve outstanding issues was important for Pakistan and India to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region. In this regard, Zardari suggested the revival of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism comprising representatives of the foreign ministries, home and interior ministries and intelligence agencies of the two countries.

Multifaceted cooperation between the two sides is imperative for socio-economic development of people and to cope with the “common enemy” of terrorism, he said.

Pointing to the need to fight terrorism jointly, Zardari said Pakistan “stood resolute to fight it until the finish.”

Zardari renewed his call for India and Pakistan to make determined efforts for “friendly, cooperative and good neighborly relations” and for “treading the path of productive and result-oriented dialogue.”

In a separate meeting with Krishna, Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed confidence that bilateral relations will improve and move forward “as we have set a direction.” Noting that both countries desire good relations, Ashraf said: “We must learn from the past. We cannot change neighbors.”

“No doubt Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek and other issues need to be resolved” but we need to have a positive approach to resolve them, he said. Ashraf too said terrorism is a “common enemy” of both countries.

He said there is political consensus in Pakistan on having good relations with India. Ashraf also extended an invitation to the Indian prime minister to visit Pakistan.

Comprehensive Maritime Domain Awareness Scheme

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pitched for a comprehensive maritime domain awareness scheme as there were indications that terrorist groups are maintaining their ability to use the sea route. He also said that there were increasing infiltration attempts in Jammu and Kashmir.

“In Jammu and Kashmir, we are beginning to see increasing infiltration attempts, across the Line of Control and even the International Border. There are also indications about terrorist groups maintaining their ability to use the sea route.

“Vigilance, therefore, needs to be exercised not only on our land borders but along the coast line as well. The comprehensive scheme of Maritime Domain Awareness to be led by the Navy would help strengthen coastal vigilance, whereas deployment of more permanent border obstacles and better sensors could improve the situation along the land borders,” he said at the conference organized by Intelligence Bureau. Although the Prime Minister did not name any terror outfit, the Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba terror outfit had used the sea route to infiltrate into Mumbai in November 2008 and went on a shooting spree killing more than 160 persons. He also said that terror threat in the hinterland continues to be a cause for worry.

Ray of Hope

In addition to boosting bilateral trade ties, it will promote people-to-people contacts in a big way. The political climate in South Asia is bound to get a new boost once people in large numbers are able to meet each other and exchange their thoughts and ideas on a frequent basis.

The idea of promoting people-to-people contacts is basically aimed at bringing about pressure on the ruling class on both sides to take decisions in accordance with the wishes of their citizens. The liberalized regime will no doubt enable easier travel and greatly facilitate people-to-people contact. This measure must be heartily welcomed.

Manmohan-Zardari Talks: Pakistani President on Dargah Diplomacy

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari paid day-long private visit to India on April 8. During his stay and talks with Indian leaders, he offered prayers at the Ajmer Sharif did help the two South Asian neighbors reduce mutual tension and consider practical ways to speedily settle some of the less contentious issues such as Sir Creek and Siachen.
At his one-on-one meeting with Zardari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, however, made it a point to highlight the issue of terrorism upfront and unequivocally told the Pakistani leader that action must be initiated against Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed and other perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack.
The Pakistani president offered prayers at the historic 13th century dargah of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer after which a $1 million donation for the shrine was announced.
Friendly and Constructive Progress
After a warm handshake and clasp and smiles for the media, the two leaders sat down for talks, which Singh said were "very constructive and friendly."
The prime minister clearly told the Pakistani president at their talks that progress in bilateral relations rested entirely on the way Islamabad handled terrorism, stressing that those behind the 26/11 Mumbai attack must be brought to justice.
Manmohan Singh also accepted Zardari’s invitation to visit Pakistan, and hoped such a visit would take the peace process forward. Singh also brought up the activities of Hafiz Saeed, the 26/11 mastermind, on whom the US has recently put a $10 million bounty.
Singh also told Zardari that Pakistan must prevent terrorist activities against India from its soil. The two leaders discussed the problem of terrorism, which is a major issue by which the Indian people will judge progress in the bilateral relationship.
Reflecting the view of Islamabad, the Pakistani president said the issue of Hafiz Saeed, on whose head the US recently declared a bounty of $10 million, needed to be discussed between the Home/Interior secretaries of the two countries who would meet shortly in Islamabad. He also stated that there were legal processes in Pakistan without going through which the civilian government could not move against the masterminds of the Mumbai attack.
Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek Issues
On “core issues” such as Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, the two sides noted Sir Creek was “doable.”
Zardari raised issues such as Sir Creek, Siachen and Jammu and Kashmir and stressed the need for resolving them. To this, the prime minister said both sides needed to move step by step and that the bilateral dialogue was in the mutual interest of the two countries.
India-China Model Emulated

However, for the first time perhaps, Islamabad indicated that it was seriously looking at the India-China model of bilateral relations wherein the two countries have put contentious issue on the backburner and made significant gains in their trade and commercial ties.
The Pakistani president said though India had several issues of discord with China, their trade relations were booming. Zardari suggested that the India-China model could help improve the relations between India and Pakistan.
High-level officials have been pointing out that more than action against Hafiz Saeed, this visit could begin the trend of top leaders meeting each other more frequently so that issues that appear to be getting nowhere in talks with bureaucrats — such as the stapled visa issue with China — could be resolved to reduce ill will.
Prime Minister Accepts Invitation To Visit Islamabad
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan, with India indicating that concrete actions against anti-India terrorists.
Only recently, he had told Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that the time to visit should be when there is a substantive announcement to make — something “solid” on the table. There is, therefore, a nuanced shift here. Since Pakistan has entered its election year, it is to be seen if the prime minister will seek to visit before the elections are announced. To that extent, he may have put himself under some pressure to decide unless he does indeed intend to go to Pakistan soon. After the election, the invitation will have to be renewed by the next government if Singh is to contemplate a visit.

China Lauds Development

China has lauded Zardari's visit to New Delhi, stating better ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbors would benefit both countries and bring stability in the region. Better ties between Pakistan and India, two nuclear-armed heavyweight neighbors on the South Asian subcontinent, will benefit both countries and regional stability. The two countries’ efforts in warming up their ties certainly are welcomed and applauded by the international community including China, which neighbors both nations and maintains significant ties with them.China and Pakistan have been all-weather friends over the past decades, while both China and India have been members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), a bloc of five major emerging economies that also includes Brazil, Russia and South Africa.
After the improvement in trade relations, marked by Pakistan recently agreeing to India’s long-standing demand of barring only those Indian goods that are on a negative list, Zardari’s lunch with the Prime Minister in a conducive atmosphere in the Indian capital will push the sense along that the mood is not one of hostility, although Islamabad has done little to bring the Mumbai attackers to justice.

India-Pakistan Talks: Positive Indications

After the India-Pakistan foreign secretary-level talks followed by the foreign minister-level talks, it appears once again that the Pakistani Government is keen to extend cooperation to the Indian Government to enhance mutual partnership. Similar situations were witnessed in past years also. However, this time around, it seems somewhat different, as Pakistan has started perceiving the ground realities gradually, about which adequate realization has been missing so far.
People's Problems
Dictators and politicians of that country have been playing a game over the decades, out of which nothing positive had emerged. Instead, Pakistan's very survival seems to have been imperiled. People's problems have assumed far more serious proportions than before.
Now, Pakistan rulers have started realizing that the shoulders on which they had rested their guns for firing have started trembling. The seeds that were sown by Pakistan are now being harvested by itself. The sport of bloodshed being played by it claimed lives of thousands of innocent people. The sovereignty of the country is being challenged by militant organizations on a large scale. Pakistan appears entrapped in an utterly tight position. Under such circumstances, it seems it can ill-afford to remain constantly at loggerheads with India. Pakistani rulers have now undoubtedly taken a major turn.
Core Issue Between Two Countries
The core issue between the countries is that of Kashmir, and they are now desirous of a peaceful solution to it. They are holding out promises to each other to promote cooperation in this regard. On the problem of terrorism also, the two nations seem to be speaking in the same voice.
Foreign ministers of India and Pakistan have expressed the view that terrorism is persistently posing a big threat to peace and security. They have, therefore, assured that they are fully determined to wipe out the threat of terrorism in all conditions. At the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meetings also, the issue of cooperation is often deliberated on. The two nations have, therefore, committed to cooperate with each other in the spirit of SAARC nations. They have expressed positive sentiments by talking in terms of relaxation of visa rules facilitate traffic on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, and also on the Poonch-Rawalkot passage.
Economic and Trade Front
In addition to Kashmir, the outstanding issue of Sir Creek and Siachin are hanging fire for a long time now. The maximum emphasis was, however, laid on economic and trade related issues at this meeting.
In case these sentiments are actually translated into action, there is every likelihood of positive changes coming into the relations between the countries, and the overall environment in this region can get largely transformed.
At the same time, terrorist organizations have been at work to see that India-Pakistan ties do not improve. But the changing scenario tends to help and inspire to initiate more positive steps in bringing the two nations closer. It can usher in a new era of peace in the region.