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| India-Pakistan |
| India, Pak. should do away with visa system: Ansar Burney |
| 2008-04-14 |
| Chandigarh (PTI): India and Pakistan should do away with the visa system to facilitate "unrestricted movement" of people between the two countries to normalise ties at a faster pace, former Pakistani minister and leading human rights activist Ansar Burney said on Sunday. "I strongly believe that if the two nations are to really strengthen their ties, they should scrap the visa system. Both the governments will need to take this initiative as people on the two sides want peace and are keen to mingle freely with each other," he said. "The people are filled with immense love for each other and the politicians on both sides should not limit themselves to just handshakes, but go with the people's sentiments," 52-year-old Burney, also a member of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, told PTI. Burney, who is currently on a visit to India with his family, was instrumental in the recent release of another Indian prisoner Kashmir Singh who spent 35 years in Pakistani prisons. He said he would like to invite top political leadership of the two neighbouring nations to come to the Wagah-Attari international border some day to take a pledge on the issue of unrestricted movement. "I am ready to act as a bridge if two sides will move forward to end the visa regime," he said. There were thousands of people who had relatives and friends on the two sides of the border, he said. Expressing hope that next month's visit to Pakistan by India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will give a "further boost" to the ties, he said, "after the recent elections in Pakistan and with a new government in place, there have been positive signals coming out from our side. Our leaders including Prime Minister Gilani, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari are all keen to improve ties with India." |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #3 IRNA > work is reportedly still on-going for an pan-Shia/Sunni ISLAMIC UNITY CHARTER bwtn IRAN + PAKI, besides other Net articles on IRAN joining the SCO. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-04-14 22:18 |
| #2 I thought all leading human rights activists smoked serious stuff John . |
| Posted by: Spash Lumumba2608 2008-04-14 10:37 |
| #1 "The people are filled with immense love for each other and the politicians on both sides should not limit themselves to just handshakes, but go with the people's sentiments," Mr. Burney smokes some serious stuff. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-04-14 07:26 |