Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said Saturday that the "aspirations of the Kashmiri people must be accommodated" and they must be a part of the dialogue process. Addressing a joint press conference with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Khar mentioned Kashmir and Siachen issues while stressing that both India and Pakistan should simultaneously progress on all tracks despite issues that have divided the two nations for several decades. "The aspirations of the Kashmiri people must be accommodated and a quest for peaceful settlement requires that we be associated in one way or the other within the dialogue process," she said. "So as we build the momentum... as we build the trust... as we build the confidence in each other's intentions and each other's commitments to a different view... to a different mindset to a different goal altogether to a different vision, I am quiet sure that we will be able to march ahead to resolve all the disputes." Khar said it was important to do so "because we must be able to disarm the nay sayers". "We must be able to disarm the people who will continue to want to divide us. So it is important that we are able to resolve these issues so that we can move forward and continue to consolidate on the success that we have been able to achieve so far and start viewing each other and looking at each other and co-existing as a part of the region," she said. She said the two neighbours should look for ways and means for solutions to issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, "so that we continue to develop on our achievements through dialogue". Khar said negative mindsets should be shunned and there is a need to move ahead with a new mindset. "Pakistan sends a strong message" to move ahead in ties without being held hostage to past positions, Khar said.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Underlining their will not to be held hostage to the past and script a new chapter in their relations, India and Pakistan Saturday signed a pact to liberalise their visa regime to promote greater trade, travel and people-to-people contacts between the two neighbours. India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar held talks on a wide range of issues, including terrorism, Kashmir, trade and ways to expand people-to-people contacts. After the talks, a pact on liberalising the visa regime was signed by Krishna and Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Terming the visa pact as the "big first step in normalizing relations" between India and Pakistan, Khar pushed for forging a people-centric and development-centric relationship between the two countries. Addressing a joint press conference, both Krishna and Khar spoke about moving beyond the past to forge a new relationship. "Let's not be held hostage to whatever has been held earlier. Let's walk the talk together and look ahead to the future," Krishna said. "Let's hope a new chapter is written which is beneficial to both sides," he said, adding the discussions were held in a "cordial and constructive atmosphere". Khar, on her part, exhorted both countries to move beyond the negative mindset. "We must move outside the negative mindset and take a positive attitude to resolve all issues," Khar said. "We are willing to forge ahead without being held hostage to the past," she said. She stressed on developing people-centric and development-centric relations between the two countries. "This is the vision behind Pakistan's abiding commitment to normalising relations with India. By December, we will treat traders from India like traders from any other country," she said, alluding to Pakistan's in-principle decision to grant Most Favoured Nation status to India. During the talks, Krishna pushed for the speedy trial of the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage. "Terrorism poses a continuing threat to peace and security in the region," said Krishna, calling for combating terrorism in "an effective and comprehensive manner". The visa agreement, which was struck after months of negotiations, will ease trade and travel between the two countries. Senior citizens, aged 65 and above, in India and Pakistan can now walk across the border between the two countries and need not go through the hassles of getting a visa from embassies in New Delhi and Islamabad. Senior citizens will be granted visas on arrival at the Attari and Wagah border in India and Pakistan respectively. Under the new arrangement, senior citizens will be granted a visa on arrival valid for 45 days. The visa agreement also includes group tourist visas and quicker visas for businessmen.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Saturday said that by December Pakistan and India would complete a trade normalisation process which would ensure that traders from India are treated like those from any other country. Addressing a joint press conference with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, she said: "We will treat traders from India as traders from anywhere else." "By the end of December, we would complete a trade normalisation process that would ensure that India was treated like any other trade partner." Referring to the eased visa regime, she said it was the first step towards "normalisation of our realtion with our neighbour". "It is an effort in moving towards stronger people-to-people ties," she said.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Pakistani Foreign Minisiter Hina Rabbani Khar said Saturday that the "aspirations of the Kashmiri people must be accommodated" and they must be a part of the dialogue process. Addressing a joint press conference with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Khar mentioned Kashmir and Siachin issues while stressing that both India and Pakistan should simultaneously progress on all tracks despite issues that have divided the two nations for several decades. She said the two neighbours should look for ways and means for solutions to issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, "so that we continue to develop on our achievements through dialogue". Khar said negative mindsets should be shunned and there is a need to move ahead with a new mindset. "Pakistan sends a strong message" to move ahead in ties, Khar said.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Saturday exhorted India and Pakistan to move beyond the negative mindset of the past and adopt a positive attitude to resolve all issues and pushed for people-centric relations between the two countries. "We must move outside the negative mindset and take a positive attitude to resolve all issues," Khar said at a joint press conference here with her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna after wide-ranging talks. "We are willing to forge ahead without being held hostage to the past," she said. She stressed on developing people-centric and development-centric relations between the two countries.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said Saturday that Pakistan and India need to "make the dialogue process effective". Addressing a joint press conference with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Khar said: "Pakistan is committed to not losing any opportunity." "We need to make the dialogue process effective," she said after talks with Krishna, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) India must share intelligence on terrorists with Pakistan so that a "Mumbai type terror attack does not take place again", Interior Minister Rehman Malik said here Saturday. After inking an agreement with India on a liberalised visa agreement, Rehman Malik said: "One good thing is that both countries are ready to talk on everything including Kashmir." The agreement was signed by Malik and Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna who arrived in Pakistan Friday on a three-day visit. Malik announced that all Indian fishermen in Pakistani prisons "stand released today as a goodwill gesture for his (Krishna's) visit". On the Mumbai terror attack, the interior minister said "we have requested for a second judicial commission to visit India" to examine the witnesses. "Let me (make it) clear to the people and leadership of India that we are very keen that these culprits are brought to justice," he said. He stressed that India "must share intelligence on terrorists with us so that Mumbai type terror attack does not take place again" and described terrorism as "a big problem". Ten terrorists from Pakistan had sneaked into Mumbai in November 2008 and gone on a three-day killing spree that left 166 people dead. Nine terrorists were gunned down while the tenth, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was nabbed. On Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner on a death row in Pakistan, Malik assured that they are "trying to work this out". "There is a Supreme Court court judgement on his death penalty and a judicial process has to be followed," he said. Krishna had Friday urged Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to consider the mercy plea of Sarabjit Singh.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) India and Pakistan Saturday signed an agreement that will ease the visa restrictions on people from both countries. The agreement was signed between Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan. "This is the sign of friendship," Malik said after the signing ceremony. Before the signing of the agreement, Krishna held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar. Thanks to the agreement, senior citizens, aged 65 and above, in India and Pakistan can now walk across the border between the two countries and need not go through the hassles of getting a visa from embassies in New Delhi and Islamabad. Senior citizens will be granted visas on arrival at the Attari and Wagah border in India and Pakistan respectively. There was no such provision available for senior citizens of both countries. Under the new arrangement, senior citizens will be granted a visa on arrival valid for 45 days. "The senior citizens can visit the other country easily now," a source said here. Many senior citizens in the two countries have been witness to the 1947 partition in which millions of people were uprooted after India's independence and Pakistan's creation. The new visa regime will see several changes aimed at easing controls. There will be a single-entry visitor visa for a maximum period of six months but the stay cannot exceed three months at a time and for five places (currently limited to three places). Group tourist visas, for groups of 10-50 people, has also been introduced for the first time. This will also be available for students provided they do not seek admission in the other country. Also, the business visa has been separated from the visitor visa, a communique said. The business visa will have to be issued within five weeks. People aged more than 65, children below 12 and eminent businessmen are exempted from police reporting. Another simplified rule will allow people to enter and exit from different check posts and change their mode of travel. This was not permitted earlier. "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 communique said. Under a new category, a visitor visa for a maximum of five specified places may be issued for a longer period of up to two years with multiple entries to senior citizens (above 65); spouse of a national of one country married to person of another country and children below 12 accompanying parent(s). Also, a transit visa will now be issued within 36 hours instead of 72 hours. Under the existing visa agreement, the single entry visa is issued for three months for meeting relatives, friends, business or other legitimate purposes. However, the visa can be issued for a longer period not exceeding a year owing to the nature of work or business.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) India and Pakistan Saturday signed an agreement to ease visa restrictions for people from both countries. The agreement was signed between Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan. Before the signing of the agreement, Krishna held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar.

Islamabad, Sep 8 (IANS) India and Pakistan Saturday signed a key agreement that will ease the visa regime to promote greater trade, travel and people-to-people contacts between the two neighbours. The agreement was signed by India's External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik. "This is the sign of friendship," Malik said after the signing ceremony. Before the signing of the agreement, Krishna, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan, held wide-ranging talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar. The agreement, which was struck after months of negotiations, will ease trade and travel between the two countries. Senior citizens, aged 65 and above, in India and Pakistan can now walk across the border between the two countries and need not go through the hassles of getting a visa from embassies in New Delhi and Islamabad. Senior citizens will be granted visas on arrival at the Attari and Wagah border in India and Pakistan respectively. Under the new arrangement, senior citizens will be granted a visa on arrival valid for 45 days. "Senior citizens can easily visit the other country now," a source said here. Many senior citizens in the two countries have been witness to the bloody partition in 1947 in which millions of people were uprooted after India's independence and Pakistan's creation. The new visa regime envisages several changes aimed at easing controls. There will be a single-entry visitor visa for a maximum period of six months but the stay cannot exceed three months at a time and for five places (currently limited to three places). A group tourist visa, for groups of 10-50 people, has also been introduced for the first time. This will also be available for students provided they do not seek admission in the other country. Also, the business visa has been separated from the visitor visa, a communique said. The business visa will have to be issued within five weeks. People aged more than 65, children below 12 and eminent businessmen are exempted from reporting to the police. Another simplified rule will allow people to enter and exit from different check posts and change their mode of travel. This was not permitted earlier. "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 communique said. Under a new category, a visitor visa for a maximum of five specified places may be issued for a longer period of up to two years with multiple entries to senior citizens (above 65); the spouse of a national of one country married to a person of another country and children below 12 accompanying parent(s). Also, a transit visa will now be issued within 36 instead of 72 hours. Under the existing visa agreement, the single entry visa is issued for three months for meeting relatives, friends, business or other legitimate purposes. However, the visa can be issued for a longer period not exceeding a year owing to the nature of work or business. (Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)