Thursday, December 15 2005 19:43 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India had sought Pakistan's help in seeking the release of Indian hostage M R Kutty in Afghanistan but Islamabad did not offer any assistance in this regard, government told the Rajya Sabha today (Dec 15, 2005).

Government had contacted Pakistani authorities to seek their assistance in the matter of release of the Indian hostage in Afghanistan, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed said in a written reply to a question.

"No, Sir", he responded to the query as to whether Pakistan had offered any assistance in this regard.

Overstay: There have been some instances of overstay by Pakistani nationals who had travelled on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus and they had been subsequently deported by the authorities concerned, he said.

However, six Pakistani nationals are still stranded in India after October 8 earthquake, Ahamed said.

Ten out of 54 Indian nationals who had travelled by the bus to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir are still stuck up there and government is in touch with Pakistani authorities to facilitate their return, he said.

Mansaravor: India had proposed to China opening of an alternative route to Kailash-Mansarovar through Demchok in Jammu and Kashmir or Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh, which would be shorter and more convenient, Ahamed said.

China, however, has cited difficulty in opening these routes on the ground that it would involve travel over long distances on their side through difficult terrain with poor road conditions and lack of proper infrastructure for accommodation and communication.