ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday had a breakfast meeting with Pakistani parliamentarians and wound up his two-day visit to the country with a trip to Taxila.

During his interaction with the parliamentarians, including PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Mr Mukherjee said India favoured a step-by-step approach on the question of Kashmir.

He said this when JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman sought his views on various proposals that Pakistan had made on Kashmir, including Joint Control and Joint Management.

While reiterating that India was willing to consider every proposal put on the table, Mr Mukherjee made it clear that redrawing of boundaries was out of question.

Borders could not be changed and maps could not be redrawn, he categorically stated.

The need for expediting the peace process, relaxing the

visa regime and promoting people-to-people and political contacts was also stressed at the meeting.

There was also discussion about the role the Election Commission plays in India as the MQM leader Farooq Sattar was keen to learn about it.

Mr Mukherjee’s view was that India and Pakistan should also cooperate in times of normalcy as they had done in the times of crises, citing the example of the earthquake.

Other party leaders who met Mr Mukherjee at the Indian High Commissioner’s residence here on Saturday were PPP’s Makhdoom Amin Fahim and ANP’s Asfandyar Wali Khan,

all of whom have been to India as members of party delegations.

PML-N leader Raja Zafarul-Haq was also invited to the roundtable but he refused due to a prior commitment. Instead, he invited Mr Mukherjee for tea but the latter’s schedule did not allow time for that.

Chaudhry Shujaat took along with him an archaeologist who made a presentation on the

restoration work being done at the site of the ancient Katas

Raj temple. The Punjab government will soon be sending a team of Pakistani archaeologists to India to visit various temple sites.

Later, Mr Mukherjee left for Taxila in a chopper and spent two hours there. A man having great interest in history, he was particularly pleased to visit the Taxila museum.

The external affairs minister left for New Delhi later in the afternoon with very positive sentiments about his trip to Pakistan and outcome of his talks here.

Mr Mukherjee expressed similar sentiments at his press conference on Saturday night and declared that he felt very at home although it was his first visit to Pakistan.

Agencies add: The Indian external affairs minister said that commonality of historical heritage and culture could help resolve all the issues between Pakistan and India.

“One thing is clear that we share common heritage and culture which bring us together to resolve our issues in the same spirit,” he said while talking to mediapersons after a visit to the ancient archaeological site of Sirkup here on Sunday.

He said the same heritage stretching over centuries and the continuity from past to present might be a medium to settle the issues.

All these things are reminders of the easy continuity which both countries nourished and should be used for future relations, he added.

Mr Mukherjee, along with other Indian officials and Indian media team, visited the historical site and were mesmerised by the remains of Buddhist civilisation.

He praised the government and the concerned department for the preservation of rich heritage of subcontinent.