Indo-Pak pact on diplomats' group fails to take off Tuesday, January 30, 2007 09:28 [IST]
New Delhi: An agreement between India and Pakistan
to allow each other's diplomats to move outside their capitals has failed to
take off, primarily because of Islamabad's
reluctance to implement the fortnight-old decision.
Pakistan government has not
lifted restrictions on movement of Indian diplomats in Islamabad, official sources said here today.
The issue was raised with the Pakistan
government but a positive response was not forthcoming, they said.
In view of Islamabad's reluctance, India has also
refused to grant permission to Pakistani diplomats from travelling to Gurgaon
and Noida.
During the talks between External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his
Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, the two countries had agreed to
allow diplomats to move outside Islamabad and New Delhi without prior
permission.
The two sides had agreed that while Indian diplomats will be allowed to travel
to Taxila and Hassanabdal, Pakistani diplomats can go to Gurgaon and Noida.
The issue was discussed in the backdrop of restrictions imposed by Pakistan on movement of Indian diplomats to
Murree and Rawalpindi on the outskirts of Islamabad in violation of
an earlier agreement.
The matter, if not resolved, is expected to figure again at the talks between
the Foreign Ministers of the two countries here on February 21.
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