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Friday, Dec 14, 2012 3:15 PM UTC

Rivals India, Pakistan to make travel easier

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Rivals India, Pakistan to make travel easierPakistan's interior minister Rehman Mailk speaks to the media upon his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in New Delhi, India, Friday, Dec. 14, 2012. Malik arrived in India on Friday to introduce a new visa system that will make cross-border travel easier and said tensions between the nuclear-powered rivals have eased a great deal since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. (AP Photo) INDIA OUT (Credit: AP)

NEW DELHI (AP) — Pakistan’s interior minister arrived in India on Friday to introduce a new visa system that will make cross-border travel easier. He said tensions between the nuclear-powered rivals have eased a great deal since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Rehman Mailk told reporters that the journey toward peace “is progressing very well because of growing interaction between the two governments.”

Condemning the Mumbai attacks that India blames on Pakistani terrorists, Malik told reporters that non-state actors, a reference to extremist groups, were playing “havoc with both countries.”

India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over control of Kashmir, since they won independence from Britain in 1947. Kashmir is divided between the two countries.

The new visa system will allow members of divided families, businesspeople, tourists and religious pilgrims to obtain visas quickly instead of waiting for months.

However, in a sign that improvements in ties will be a slow process, the TimesNow TV news channel reported that Malik’s arrival in the Indian capital was delayed by more than three hours because of a security-clearance issue raised by India to a military plane used by the Pakistan minister.

“The pilots expect some kind of clearance. It got delayed. It was beyond me,” Malik said.

There was no immediate comment by Indian authorities.

The issue of Hafiz Saeed is also expected to dominate Malik’s talks in New Delhi. India accuses Saeed, chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, for whom the US offered a $10 million reward this year, of being the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists killed 166 people. Asked about India’s demand for Saeed’s arrest and trial by a court, Malik said India has not provided credible evidence against him.

“There has been a lot of propaganda and pressure on us. I have received dossiers (from India) with only information,” he said.

New Delhi says Saeed has been using Pakistan to campaign against India through public speeches.

Pakistani authorities arrested Saeed three times, but the courts found him innocent and freed him each time, Malik said.

Malik will hold talks with Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before returning home on Sunday.

More By Ashok Sharma.

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