19 December 2004	Sunday	06 Ziqa'ad 1425

NEW DELHI, Dec 18: National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain said on Saturday that the visit of Pakistani parliamentarians to India will help provide an impetus in taking the ongoing peace process between the two countries forward.

The speaker, who is leading a nine-member delegation of National Assembly members form both the treasury and opposition benches on a week-long visit, was earlier received by Lok Sabha Secretary-General G.C. Malhotra and Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmad Khan at the Indira Gandhi Airport.

Talking to APP at the airport, the speaker, who is here on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Somnath Chatterjee, said exchange of such delegations between the two countries would provide an opportunity to know about each other's systems.

In reply to a question, he said that during his meeting with President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and, hopefully, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, he would convey goodwill messages of President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to them.

Members of the delegation will witness the proceedings of the Lok Sabha.

A banquet will be hosted by the Lok Sabha speaker in the honour of the delegation on Monday.-APP