ISLAMABAD, April 25: For every 10 visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals, Pakistan has issued 19 to Indians in the first quarter of this year that marked the high point in Indo-Pakistan relations.

The total number of visas issued during this period by India and Pakistan stood at around 10,000 and 19,000 respectively, diplomatic sources in Islamabad and New Delhi told Dawn. The number of visas issued by both sides in the first quarter of 2004 was 10 times higher than the visas issued in the first quarter of 2003, the sources maintained.

This was the highest number of nationals of the two countries that crossed the border in any one quarter since the 1999 Kargil conflict, the diplomatic sources added. Issuance of record number of visas reflects the tremendous goodwill generated by the recent peace initiatives taken by the two nuclear-armed neighbours to improve relations.

The dawn of this year saw an unprecedented stream of visits from both sides. It all started with the 12th Saarc Summit in Islamabad that drew a 300-plus strong Indian media contingent to the capital in January.

Clearly, the turning point in the Indo-Pakistan relations was the historic Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting here on the sidelines of the Saarc Summit. Their meeting culminated in the path-breaking Jan 6 joint statement that opened the floodgates for a powerful people-to-people exchange.

Two major sporting events in Pakistan - the recently-concluded cricket series and the SAF games - brought a cross-section of Indians in hordes. These included showbiz personalities, businessmen, politicians, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, lawyers, media persons, NGO representatives and other members of the civil society.

Information obtained from the high commissions in Islamabad and New Delhi showed that although Pakistan issued almost twice the number of visas, it had only five people processing the visa applications compared to the strength of 14 to 16 people at the Indian diplomatic mission.

Notably, while at the Indian High Commission there is a long waiting period, at the Pakistan High Commission there is none. Dr Ramesh Chandra, Press Counsellor at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, told Dawn the average waiting period for visas was between three to four months.

However, he added, for business people it was less than two weeks or a maximum of 20 days. The visa section at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi says there is no waiting period. Pakistani diplomats claimed that all applications were cleared within 48 hours.