Wednesday, February 16 2005 22:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) today (Feb 16, 2005) said the Government's decision to allow travel on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service by the entry permit system was not in the "interests of India's national security" as it could be "misused by terrorists".

"While we welcome people-to-people contact, national interests and security concerns cannot be ignored. Allowing people to travel without passport, which is the authentic document of citizenship, will not be in the interests of national security," party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters.

He said no steps detrimental to national security should be taken in pursuit of peace with Pakistan and people will not accept it.

"There is always the possibility of terrorists misusing the provision," he said.

Meanwhile, several BJP leaders expressed concern over India agreeing to drop its insistence on passport as the valid travel document.

They feared that by providing the State Government with powers to issue permits for international travel, the Government was "compromising on national sovereignty".