NEW DELHI, July 25: India has offered to fund the travel, stay and medical treatment of 20 Pakistani children, an official said on Friday.

India’s Minister for External Affairs Yashwant Sinha made the offer during a courtesy visit by Pakistan’s High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan.

While no immediate timeframe was discussed, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan has been asked to facilitate visas for the children and one adult.

A spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said that the proposal followed “the popular response in India to the Noor Fatima case”.

Two-year-old Noor and her parents travelled to India on the first bus from Lahore on July 11, the day the popular bus service between the two countries resumed.

Noor had a hole in her heart and was successfully operated on in the southern city of Bangalore.

As she recovers, Noor has been flooded with visitors, gifts, cards and wishes from all over the country, as people see her as a symbol of the change in relations between the two South Asian rivals.

An MEA spokesperson said Mr Sinha “drew attention to the need for Pakistan to cooperate with India to deal with the problem of terrorism.”

“He also expressed his confidence that the government of Pakistan would make the necessary effort to prevent the infiltrators from derailing the peace process.”

The bus service was launched in February 1999 when Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made a historic trip to Lahore for talks with his counterpart Nawaz Sharif on easing tensions in the region.

At a public rally in Srinagar in April Mr Vajpayee extended a “hand of friendship” to Pakistan, ending a 17-month deadlock.

In May, Mr Vajpayee announced in parliament the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Pakistan in an effort to normalize ties.This was followed by steps to resume transport links.—dpa