India, Pak issue diplomatic visas to each other after 28 months

New Delhi [India], August 24 (ANI): India and Pakistan have issued assignment visas to each other’s diplomats after a gap of around 28 months as both countries are trying to normalise ties.

Both countries have issued a large number of assignment visas to each other’s diplomatic staff in recent weeks.

According to the Express Tribune, India and Pakistan have issued visas on all applications submitted by March 15, 2021.

A total of seven Pakistani diplomats received assignment visas from India while Pakistan issued visas to 33 Indian officials.

As per the Express Tribune, India and Pakistan are likely to issue more visas to each other’s diplomats.

Both countries around the world issue assignment visas to diplomats and embassy staff from other countries.

In January this year, the two arch-enemies held secret talks in Dubai, initiated backchannel diplomacy aimed at normalising ties in the next several months.

The armies of both India and Pakistan in February 2021 announced an unexpected joint ceasefire.

In April, the UAE’s envoy to Washington said that the Gulf state was mediating between India and Pakistan to reach a healthy and functional relationship, reported the Express Tribune.

Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said in a virtual discussion with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution said, “UAE had played a role in bringing Kashmir escalation down and created a ceasefire, hopefully ultimately leading to restoring diplomats and getting the relationship back to a healthy level”.

“They might not sort of becoming best friends but at least we want to get it to a level where it’s functional, where it’s operational, where they are speaking to each other,” he added.

Earlier in March, Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa called on India to bury the past and move towards cooperation.

The ties between both the countries were severed after the 2019 Pulwama attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed.

A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the bus. The convoy had 78 buses in which around 2,500 personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar. (ANI)