ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Government is preparing to celebrate Shivaratri on Friday at Ketas, a sixth century Hindu temple complex in the Punjab province which it is restoring and where it hopes to attract a million Indian pilgrims every year.But in the ongoing discussions between the two countries for a "liberal" visa regime, it has rejected a proposal for pilgrim visas, along with several other changes to the old visa policy suggested by India in an October 2005 draft.

With this, the matter is virtually back on the drawing board and there appears little hope of a more open visa policy between the two countries at any time in the near future.

Sources said that New Delhi had asked Pakistan to reconsider its dilutions to the Indian proposals. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made this request to his counterpart Khurshid Kasuri when the two met here last month.

Significantly, the only issue of convergence between the two sides is on retaining "police reporting", one of the toughest aspects of the old system that requires visitors on both sides, unless specifically exempted, to report to the nearest police station to declare their arrival and departure.

Aside from pilgrim visas, Pakistan has rejected the Indian suggestion for student visas and visas on arrival for people aged above 65 and under 16, and tightened other Indian proposals. For instance, India had suggested a three-month visa for visitors, with three entries; Pakistan wants a two-month single entry visa.

Similarly, Pakistan has knocked down the Indian proposal for a 72-hour transit visa to 24 hours. India had also proposed a 90-day business visa, but Pakistan has suggested a 30-day visa, adding the requirement that every businessman must produce a certificate from his government to prove his bona fide.

India had suggested tacking on Kolkata and Chennai to the existing entry points from Pakistan; rejecting this, Pakistan has instead suggested adding Amritsar.

When Pakistan sent in the suggestions in December 2006, more than a year after the Indian proposals, it raised hope that this would give some momentum to the discussions on replacing the 1974 visa agreement between the two countries with a more updated and liberal policy. Now that assessment will change.

The Pakistani withdrawal is surprising on several counts. At present, more Pakistanis visit India than the other way around. The Indian High Commission issues around 8,000 visas every month. Pakistan too believes there is a huge number of Indian waiting to visit here, given a user-friendly visa regime.

President Pervez Musharraf has said on several occasions that if the two countries opened up their countries to each other's tourists, they would not need visitors from any other country.

Disagreement over agreement

Also back to the starting blocks is the issue of restrictions on the travel of each other's diplomats, which the two ministers announced at their January meeting had been sorted out amicably.

Now the two sides disagree over what the agreement reached then was.

According to the Indian side, it was to allow Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi to visit NOIDA and Gurgaon with three-days notice, and Indian diplomats here to visit the historic sites of Taxila and Hasan Abdal with a similar three-day notice.

In addition, Pakistan had agreed to restore to Indian diplomats here unrestricted travel to Murree and Rawalpindi, a privilege they have had since the days Islamabad was a new, but tiny capital.

But according to the Pakistani side, Indians need to get government permission, as against just giving notice, for travel to Taxila and Hasan Abdal. Sources said India had rejected this.

Consequently, Murree and Rawalpindi are also off the table for Indian diplomats unless they take permission. Likewise, Pakistani diplomats cannot visit NOIDA and Gurgaon.

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