After googly, now a yorker: India follows up PM's invitation by easing cross-LoC travel

New Delhi
26 March 2011

India has unilaterally decided to increase the period of stay for the persons
visiting Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to six months with
multiple entries.

It comes the day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited President Asif Ali Zardari
and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to join him at the Mohali cricket stadium
Wednesday for watching the World Cup semi - final clash between India and Pakistan.

India's overture is in keeping with its belief that people-to-people contacts across the
Line of Control should not be allowed to be hostage to Pakistan's wavering and
inconsistent attitude toward pursuing a course of rapprochement and detente with India.

Giving details of the decision, Vishnu Prakash, the spokesman of the ministry of external
affairs (MEA), said the validity of the entry permit for persons from PoK would be
increased from four months to six months.

At present, the passport offices in Srinagar and Jammu -- which are the designated
authorities for cross-LoC travel -- allow for a four-week stay, which may be extended by
another two weeks.

"Based on the recommendation of the government of J&K, ministry of external affairs
extends the stay for a further period of two weeks in certain cases such as health or
family emergencies," Mr Prakash said.

He hoped the gesture will encourage more people-to-people contacts across the LoC.

Humanitarian issues and confidence building measures are among the subjects that are
on the agenda of the India - Pakistan peace talks, which will kick off on March 28 and 29
with the meeting of their home secretaries in New Delhi. The commerce secretaries of
the two countries are expected to meet in April. The decision to resume the dialogue was
announced on February 10, four days after foreign secretary Nirupama Rao met her
Pakistan counterpart in Bhutan.

Prime Minister Singh's invitation for the cricket match has been welcomed by the
Pakistani government. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar has said that Pakistan
welcomed the invitation. Premier Gilani is reported to be favourably disposed to India's
gesture, too.

Pakistan was still to announce who -- President Zardari or Premier Gilani -- would
eventually accept the invitation, but indications are that it will be Mr Gilani. He returned
Saturday from a visit to Uzbekistan and was expected to call on President Zardari to take
a view on the invitation. Pakistan's information minister Firdous Ashiq Awan has told the
media that other stakeholders, including the military leadership, would be consulted on
the issue.

In India, Prime Minister Singh's invitation to the Pakistani leaders has drawn a mixed
reaction from political and official circles. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy
has asked the Prime Minister not to attend the match as it might put the Indian players
under pressure and also because March 30 is the founding day of the elite National
Security Guards (NSG), whose jawans fought the Pakistani terrorists responsible for the
26 November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Mr Swamy also said that Prime Minister
Singh was scheduled to attend an NSG function in the morning and attend the match in
the afternoon.

A section of the official circles wondered why India should not wait to see whether there
was any satisfactory change in Pakistan's attitude towards the series of talks planned
between now and July, when the foreign ministers are likely to meet, before taking such
goodwill gestures.

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