An agreement is expected to be signed next January 13 when the foreign ministers of the two countries meet. The decision is raising hopes for a quick solution to the Indo-Pakistani conflict.

Islamabad (AsiaNews) – The governments of Pakistan and India are set to liberalise their visa policy so visitors from the two countries will not be subject to current restrictions.

Sources said that a formal agreement was likely to be signed on January 13 when the foreign ministers of the two countries hold talks in Islamabad.
Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said visa liberalisation was part of a tourism agreement.

A senior Interior Ministry official said that Pakistan and India had agreed to increase the number of visa counters each has from the existing two to three, and plan to issue over 1,000 visas daily to businessmen and tourists.

“Under the new policy, citizens and businessmen of both countries would get a seven-day open visa with no restrictions on visiting a particular city or place. They would be allowed to move anywhere,” the official said.

Tourists would also be offered a 15-day visa if they visit as part of a delegation or group.

Currently, the two countries are issuing visas only from Mumbai, New Delhi, Karachi and Islamabad.

The decision by the two governments is raising hopes that a solution might found to the Indo-Pakistani conflict that has lasted since 1947 over the mainly-Muslim Kashmir which both parties claim as their own. 

• pakistan
• india
• visa
• policy
• changes
• liberalisation