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Saturday, September 01, 2012
Visa regime with India to be signed this month: Malik* Interior minister says both countries must identify common enemy, achieve peace at all costs
TEHRAN: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said that Pakistan had finalised work on visa regime with India and hoped it would be signed during the visit of Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in September.
Talking to media, Malik said Pakistan wanted friendly relations with India, adding that in some matters it was going out of the way to ensure better relations with its immediate neighbour.
Malik, who accompanied the president during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, termed the meeting as “excellent”, and said that both countries were heading in the right direction to resolve all outstanding issues.
He, however, said it was the obligation of the two states to identify their common enemy, which did not want the two countries to be friends. “We would not allow anyone to exploit the situation,” he added. The interior minister referred to many cases in the past when allegations were levelled against the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for certain acts, but later people from India were found responsible for them. He said all those responsible for creating misunderstandings between the two countries must be stopped, as the objective was to achieve peace at all costs.
Regarding the progress on the Mumbai attacks case, he said Pakistan had taken numerous steps to bring the culprits to justice. He, however, said the commission sent by Pakistan had demanded that three major witnesses, including the doctor, magistrate and investigating officer be allowed to be cross-examined. He said once the cross-examination report were available, the Pakistani courts could proceed on the matter. He said the situation was very complex as non-state actors, both from Pakistan and India, were involved in creating misunderstandings between the two countries. Malik said that frequent interaction between the leadership of the two countries would help improve the environment.
Answering a question about Jamaatud Dawa ChiefHafiz Saeed, he said all allegations against him were based on rumours. He said he had repeatedly asked India to provide whatever solid evidence it had against him. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk