Pakistan offers talks to India: Reopening of Khokrapar route
LAHORE, Nov 15: Pakistan on Saturday made an offer to India for a dialogue for re-opening of “Khokrapar” border in Sindh which is closed for the last four decades.
“The border may be re-opened through a dialogue for which India should come to the negotiation table,” Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said while talking to newsmen before attending a seminar held under the aegis of Kashmir Action Committee (KAC) at a local hotel on Saturday evening.
Replying to a question about forthcoming three-day summit conference of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) being held in Islamabad from Jan 2, Mr Kasuri said that the moot would be of great significance.
Mr Kasuri hoped, as assured by his Indian counterpart during his last meeting, he (Indian Foreign Minister) would also visit Islamabad along with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Mr Kasuri said if India has any reservation to attend the Saarc conference it should inform Pakistan accordingly and added that it should attend Summit conference un-conditionally.
Mr Kasuri pointed out that the Saarc charter provides for holding of the summit conference once every year.
He appreciated peoples-to-peoples-contact between India and Pakistan and agreed frequent exchange of delegations could help better ties between the two countries.
Mr Kasuri however regretted that Pakistani Parliamentary delegation which visited India was not accorded due protocol by the Indian authorities while on the other hand the Indian parliamentary delegation was given full protocol here by the Pakistani government, he added.
The foreign minister also regretted denial of visa to a Pakistani journalist who wanted to visit India with the delegation.—APP
