KARACHI, June 30: Visiting Nepalese journalists on Wednesday maintained that a better relationship between Pakistan and India would also help improve Islamabad's relations with Kathmandu and other Saarc capitals in economic and other fields.

These views were expressed by the five-member delegation, led by Prateek Pradhan, editor of Katmandu Post, during a visit to the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA).

The week-long visit to Pakistan was sponsored by the Institute of Foreign Studies. The other members of the delegation were: Pushkar Lal Shrestha, editor-in-chief of Nepal Samacharpatra, Narendra Prasad Upadhaya, chief editor of weekly The Telegraph, Beena Kharel, a columnist of the Kathmandu Post, and Rajendra Dev Acharya, chief news divisions of Nepal.

During interaction with the PIIA members, Mr Pradhan maintained that Saarc had the potential of emerging as a vibrant community on the pattern of the European Union and the Association of the South East Asian Nations, ushering in an era of economic development.

He praised the economic progress achieved by Pakistan in recent years. In reply to a question, he said if relations between India and Pakistan were normalized then a trilateral gas pipeline which is projected to run up to India, could also serve Nepal.

In that scenario, he continued, Nepal would exploit in a better manner its potential of generating 83,000 megawatts of electricity. He said the two countries could have mutually beneficial programmes in tourism and other sectors.

He pointed out that some good medical schools had come up in Nepal which could serve as an area for students' exchange. When asked to comment on the Maoist movement in Nepal, Mr Pradhan said that rebels did not enjoy public support and added that they had exerted their influence through violence.

Asked whether the Maoists were being backed by India, he said there was no proof of the Indian government's overt support for them. But, he pointed out that the Maoists had links inside India, not necessarily in the government.

He said the press in his country supported democracy in Nepal. He said that except for PTV-2, no Pakistani TV channel's transmissions were available in Nepal. Pakistani newspapers were also not available in Nepal, he added.

Earlier, a senior members of the PIIA, S.M. Fazal, welcomed the delegation. Mr Fazal said that such exchanges would result in interaction between the two peoples which would further improve the friendly relations between Nepal and Pakistan.