LAHORE, June 16: Ten Indian parliamentarians will arrive here on Tuesday via Wagah on an eight-day peace mission that includes high-level meetings with politicians, lawmakers, businessmen and government officials.

The Indian lawmakers are visiting Pakistan on an invitation of the Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy. The visit, according to the forum, was unofficial and arranged privately.

Many peace activists will receive the guests when they cross the Wagah border in the afternoon.

The forum, which is dedicated to peace and friendship between the two South Asian countries and promotes people-to-people contact, had arranged a similar peace mission of 12 Pakistani senators and members of the National Assembly in the second week of May.

“Visits of lawmakers from the two sides of the divide have been arranged to enable them to understand the issues and help settle the outstanding disputes between the two countries through dialogue,” said an official of the Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy, Kamran Khan.

“Parliamentarians from the Saarc member countries do not require visa to cross into the borders,” he said.

The visit comes at a time when peace overtures are being made by the two governments after a 17-month stand-off, resulting from a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament building. Rail, road, and air links were suspended by India on Jan 1, 2002.

The visit of Indian lawmakers is being coordinated by Kuldip Nayyar, a well-known Indian journalist and parliamentarian. The delegation includes lawmakers belonging to the ruling BJP, Indian National Congress, CPI(M), Samaj Wadi Party, Haryana Wiqas Party and National Conference, according to some reports from New Delhi.

A forum’s founding member, Dr Mubashir Hasan, told this reporter here on Monday that the Indian delegation would comprise 10 parliamentarians— five members each from Lok Sabha and Rajia Sabha.

The team will comprise Shahid Siddique, Kartar Singh Duggan, Rajiv Shukla, Swrag Kaushal, Abdur Rashid, Jagmit Singh Prar, B. Bansal, Renuka Chaudhry, Lakshman Seth and Kuldip Nayyar.

The spouses of two delegates will also accompany them.

The Indian lawmakers will also visit Karachi and Islamabad before returning on June 25.