Liberal visa regime with India finalised, may be signed soon: Malik

Interior minister says Pakistan wants friendly relations with India, sometimes going out of way to ensure this.

TEHRAN: Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Pakistan has finalised work on liberal visa regime with India and hoped it would be signed during the upcoming visit of Indian Foreign Minister to Pakistan in September.     

Talking to media in Tehran where he attended the 16th Summit of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM), the interior minister said Pakistan wants friendly relations with India and that it was going out of its way to ensure better relations with its immediate neighbour in some cases.

Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna is due to visit Pakistan from September 7-9.

Malik, who has accompanied President Asif Ali Zardari during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, termed the meeting as "excellent" and said both countries were heading in the right direction to resolve all the outstanding issues.

The interior minister however said that it was necessary for the two states to identify their common enemy which does not want friendly relations between them.

"We would not allow anyone to exploit the situation," he added.

Malik referred to many incidents when Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was accused of wrongdoings in India but were in fact acts committed by Indian elements.

“All those responsible for creating misunderstandings between the two countries must be stopped as they want to achieve peace at any cost,” he said.

Talking about the progress on Mumbai attacks case, Malik said Pakistan has taken several steps to bring the culprits to justice. He however said that the commission sent by Pakistan had demanded that the three major witnesses be cross examined.

“Once the cross examination report is available, the Pakistani courts can proceed on the matter,” he said.

He explained that it was a very complex situation where non-state actors, both from Pakistan and India, were involved. Malik also mentioned David Headly, whom he described as a 'triple agent'.

“Frequent interaction between the leadership of India and Pakistan will help improve the environment,” he said.

Speaking about Hafiz Saeed, Malik said all the allegations against him were based on hearsay. “We have repeatedly said that if India has some solid evidence, it should give it to us,” he reiterated.

Responding to a question about the alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Abu Jandal, the interior minister said he was a part of a sting operation and added that such issues can only be addressed if the countries are determined to fight terrorism.

He also urged the media to verify the facts, as it could damage relationship between the two countries.