India hopes liberalised visa regime will emerge after Home Secretary-level talks with Pakistan

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) India today hoped that a pact will be signed with Pakistan to have a liberalised visa regime besides the two sides taking forward Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) at the Home Secretary-level talks to be held next month. "I think the liberalised visa regime can be signed if the Pakistani side is ready. Our Cabinet has approved it. Then we can talk about trade-related matters, we can talk about CBMs along the LoC ... a number of issues. I am optimistic," Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. He was responding to a question on what New Delhi was expecting from the India-Pakistan Home Secretary-level talks to be held in Islamabad towards the end of May. During the talks, an agreement to liberalise the visa procedures for the benefit of people from either country is expected to be signed, officials said. The Indian Cabinet had last week given its nod for signing the pact which includes multi-entry non-police reporting visas for businessmen. This will allow them to visit five cities instead of three as at present. The other provisions include exempting elderly people from police reporting and allowing common people from either country to visit three earmarked cities. The bilateral meeting will be held amid renewed engagements between India and Pakistan. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had hosted a lunch for Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on April 8 when he was here on a "private visit". Last month, Singh met Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. The last India-Pakistan Home Secretary-level talks were held here in March 2011. PTI