ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's cabinet Wednesday approved four agreements signed with neighboring India, including a much-anticipated agreement on a liberalized visa regime aimed at promoting bilateral trade between the two countries. The cabinet's ratification Wednesday came more than a month and a half after the agreement's initial signing on Sept. 8, during then Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna's visit to Pakistan. The signing of the accord, which was ready in May, had initially been delayed because of Interior Minister Rehman Malik's insistence on inking it at “the right time and at the appropriate level”. The liberalized visa accord allows for issuance of visas to the elderly and children on arrival. It facilitates visas for group tourists and allows for issuance of multiple-entry visas to businesspeople. The agreement is practically the first step toward easing the travel restrictions between the two countries since 1974, when the old visa regime came into force. The federal cabinet had already given a nod to the pact before it was signed by officials from both countries. The three other agreements ratified by the cabinet during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf are aimed at boosting trade between the two countries. The three trade agreements were signed on Sept. 21 at the conclusion of two-day talks between the commerce secretaries of the two countries. One agreement covers cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters while another is aimed at redressing trade grievances. The third agreement between the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority is aimed at conforming standards in the two countries. The two sides are also discussing other measures aimed at boosting bilateral trade and cooperation in new areas like opening of bank branches and cross-border investments. The two countries have said they intend to increase bilateral trade to six billion dollars by 2014. The powerful nuclear neighbors have fought three full-fledged wars and almost fought a fourth one when Pakistani troops occupied the contested Kargil heights in the Himalayas. — Agencies
