New Delhi, June 16 (PTI): The Home Ministry has asked the External Affairs Ministry to speedily take up with Pakistan a proposal for "e-linking" Srinagar and Muzaffarabad for quick clearance of documents of people travelling between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta, during a high-level meeting held in Srinagar, asked External Affairs Ministry officials to take up the matter with their Pakistani counterparts at the earliest as it could be seen as a confidence-building measures initiated by the two countries on Kashmir, official sources said.

The proposal, which came from the Jammu and Kashmir government, will do away with cumbersome and time-consuming procedures due to which applications for travel get delayed for months together, they said.

The External Affairs Ministry officials informed the meeting that the proposal was with the National Informatics Centre as it had to give a technical feasibility report. The matter could be taken up with Pakistan after this.

According to the state government's proposal, two nodal offices in Srinagar and Muzaffarabad will be e-linked to each other. This will ensure that all applications are processed "as quickly as possible", the sources said.

The move is also expected to do away with official wrangling and lengthy procedures, and travel permits could be issued within a few days instead of months, they said.

The proposal was discussed with Central security agencies, which gave their nod to it and even suggested a secure line should be used for connecting the two offices in Jammu and Kashmir and PoK.