Friday, February 25 2005 11:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Communist leaders from India, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and his Communist Party if India (CPI) counterpart A B Bardhan were given a rousing reception at the Lahore airport yesterday (Feb 24, 2005) on the first ever visit by Indian Left leaders to Pakistan.

"It is a great moment for us for Pakistan Left parties to receive our Indian colleagues," leader of the Communist Workers and Peasant Party of Pakistan said from Lahore after receiving the two leaders.

The two along with their party associates and five Indian journalists from Left-wing newspapers were received by a large crowd of Left supporters when they arrived on a nine-day visit to Pakistan.

During their visit, they will visit Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. In Islamabad they would hold talks with top Pakistani leaders, including President Pervez Musharraf.

Considering the influence Left leaders wield in the present Indian Government, which depends on their support, the Pakistan Government has accorded State protocol to them.

The visit would be a walk down memory lane for veteran Surjeet as he would be visiting the Lahore Fort Jail and the Montgomery Jail in Sahiwal, where he spent over five years during the independence movement.

He is also no stranger to Lahore as until partition he spent considerable years underground working for the United Communist Party during British rule.

Their visit is hosted by the three-party alliance of Pakistan Left parties, which includes Communist Workers and Peasant Party, Communist Party of Pakistan and Labour Party of Pakistan.