KARACHI: Pakistan, India urged to ease visa restrictions
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, June 13: The participants of the four-day conference of the Karachi-Mumbai Exchange Programme on Tuesday noted that people's mindset on either side of the border was changing but it would take some time to remove the bias which had kept them at the loggers-head for over half a century.
These views were expressed in the concluding session of a four-day conference, organized by the South-Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) at Karachi Press Club.
Speakers from the two would-be twin cities announced to form a Karachi-Mumbai Forum, a broad-based platform to bring the people of the two mega cities closer.
"We the media people always enjoy the negativity and play our game on it but while doing that we emphasise on our positive role to bring some positive change. This conference has succeeded in the goal we have envisaged and it will prove a milestone for our future endeavours," said K K Katyal, President of SAFMA, in his speech at the concluding session of the moot.
Kumar Ketkar, coordinator of SAFMA for India, termed the programme a success and said such visits of Indian and Pakistani professionals belonging to various fields would increase in future.
Jabbar Khattak, SAFMA coordinator for Pakistan, Mazhar Abbas, secretary-general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and KPC President Ghazi Salahuddin also spoke.
Later, chief of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Haroon Farooki, and president of the Maharashtra Ecomonic Development Council, Muralidhar Chaini, signed a resolution, declaring that the business representatives of the two countries have formed an independent think-tank, which would work for improving the business-related issues.
RECEPTION: Speaking at a reception hosted in honour of the visiting SAFMA delegation from Mumbai by the Deputy Speaker, Rahila Tiwana, at the Sindh Assembly Building on Monday night, K K Katyal called upon the Indian and Pakistan governments to ease visa restrictions for further promotion of people-to-people contacts, adds APP.
“This would also contribute towards carrying forward the ongoing peace process between the two countries,” he said.
Katyal pointed out that people of both the countries can easily get visa for Western and American countries for a period of five to 10 years, but when it comes to a visit to the neighbouring countries -- Pakistan and India --, they have to go through a number of procedural complications to get visa for a small period of up to a week.
Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly, Rahila Tiwana pointed out that the role assumed by SAFMA has accelerated the pace of efforts being made for strengthening friendly bilateral ties between the two countries.
Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui in his address said journalists have played a significant role in highlighting sensitive issues and bringing the two countries closer.
“Too much damage has already been done and this has to be stopped at once,” he stressed.
Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Rahila Tiwana presented gifts and certificates to each member of the visiting delegation.
KARACHI, June 13: The participants of the four-day conference of the Karachi-Mumbai Exchange Programme on Tuesday noted that people's mindset on either side of the border was changing but it would take some time to remove the bias which had kept them at the loggers-head for over half a century.
