Rehman Malik's India visit on visa agreement deferred to 14 Dec

New Delhi: The visit of Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik to India, for operationalisation of liberalised visa agreement between the two countries, has been deferred and he is likely to arrive here on 14 December. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday had invited Malik to visit India from 11 to 13 December during which he was scheduled to travel to Agra to spend a day at the Taj Mahal on 12 December, which is his birthday. “Grateful to Mr Shinde for his kind gesture to invite me to celebrate my birthday in Agra. Having (sic) unable to go on 12th, now I will go on 14th,” Malik wrote in microblogging site Twitter. [caption id=“attachment_547810” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] The Pakistani leader said he would not be able to visit India between 11 and 13 December as he would be away in Turkey on an official tour. The new proposed dates for his visit to India are 14 to 16 December. Sources said as 13 December is the 11th anniversary of Parliament attack, carried out by Pakistani terrorists, Malik might have chosen to avoid being in India on that day. Home Ministry sources said details of Malik’s visit is being worked out in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs and Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. Shinde had said Malik’s birthday falls on 12 December and he had expressed his desire to spend the day at the Taj Mahal and the government would facilitate his visit to the historic city. The new liberalised Indo-Pak visa pact replaces a 38-year-old restrictive visa agreement and paves the way for time-bound visa approval and greater people-to-people contact and trade. The visa agreement, signed by then External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Malik in Islamabad on 8 September, eases curbs on issuing visas to traders, elderly people, tourists, pilgrims, members of civil society and children. Under the new regime, one can visit five places, instead of the three at present, and those above 65 years of age and children below 12 years of age and eminent businessmen are exempted from reporting to the police. Malik had indicated to Shinde, when they met in Rome on the sidelines of the Interpol General Assembly last month, that he wished to travel to New Delhi to formally launch the new visa regime. However, due to the winter session of Parliament, the visit could not be materialise. Later, official sources said that as the government was planning to hang 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab on 21 November, the visit was put on hold. PTI