August 24; New Delhi; Concluding the 4th round of India-Pakistan Parliamentarians Dialogue, the Parliamentarians from the two countries called for early liberalisation of visa regime between Pakistan and India.

The Parliamentarians also urged that through the liberal visa regime, citizens of both Pakistan and India should be given visas exempted from police reporting to avoid undue harassment. They also underlined that health-related travel and religious tourism in both countries must be facilitated as a priority by both countries. Exchange of artists and media persons must also be accelerated by the two sides. The Parliamentarians emphasised that educationists and senior citizens from the two countries must be allowed visa-free access. The two sides must also swiftly move towards allowing citizens to travel across the border in their own vehicles.

The two-day dialogue began with discussion on the developments in the official Pak-India Dialogue. Parliamentarians specifically discussed the themes including Visas, Education, Health, Local Government and the Role of Media. On each of these themes, specific recommendations have been made by the Parliamentarians that form the Joint Statement issued upon the conclusion of the two-day dialogue.

The Joint Statement issued upon the conclusion of the 4th Round of Dialogue is enclosed.

For the future dialogues, Parliamentarians have agreed to focus on sectoral issues such as agriculture and irrigation, energy (including renewable energy) and information technology, etc. as also general issues such as strengthening democracy and promoting accountability in public life.

The Dialogue Co-Chair India Honourable Mr. Yashwant Sinha, Member, Lok Sabha (Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, BJP); former Union Minister and Dialogue Co-Chairs Pakistan Honourable Senator Muhammad Jehangir Bader, Leader of the House, Senate of Pakistan; Honourable Mr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, MNA, Chairman, National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce (NA-96, Gujranwala-II, Punjab, PML-N) addressed a press conference upon the conclusion of the dialogue.

The Pakistan delegation included Honourable Senator Sabir Ali Baloch, Deputy Chairman, Senate of Pakistan (Balochistan, PPPP); Honourable Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel, Chairman, Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ANP); Honourable Senator Dr. Saeeda Iqbal, Chairperson, Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change (Islamabad Capital Territory, PPPP); Honourable Mr. Nadeem Afzal Gondal, MNA, Chairman Public Accounts Committee, (NA-64, Sargodha-I, Punjab, PPPP); Honourable Mr. Zahid Hamid, MNA, (NA-114, Sialkot-V, Punjab, PML-N); Honourable Syed Tayyab Hussain, MNA, (NA-219, Hyderabad-II, Sindh, MQM); Honourable Ms. Anusha Rahman Khan, MNA, (NA-288, Punjab-XVI, Punjab, PML-N); Honourable Mir Amer Ali Khan Magsi, MNA, (NA-206, Larkana-III, Sindh, PPPP); Honourable Mian Abdus Sattar, MNA, Parliamentary Secretary, Planning and Development Commission (NA-193, R.Y.Khan-II, Punjab, PPPP), and Honourable Dr. Nafisa Shah, MNA, Chairperson, National Commission for Human Development (NA-309, Sindh-II, Sindh, PPPP). Mr. Iftikharullah Babar, Secretary Senate of Pakistan, Malik Kamran Azam Khan Rajar, Staff Officer to the Speaker; Deputy Secretary, National Assembly of Pakistan; in-charge of all Parliamentary Friendship Groups in the National Assembly, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive Director PILDAT, Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director PILDAT, Mr. Faheem Ahmed Khan, Projects Manager PILDAT, Mr. Hammal Dostain, Projects Manager PILDAT and Mr. Hamza Rehman Malik, Reporter, Associated Press of Pakistan are also part of the delegation.

Indian Parliamentarians who joined the dialogue from the Rajya Sabha included Honourable Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar, (Member, Rajya Sabha (Nominated, INC); Honourable Mr. Ali Anwar Ansari, Member (Rajya Sabha , Bihar, JDU); Honourable Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar, Member, Rajya Sabha (Nominated, INC); Honourable Dr. E. M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Member, Rajya Sabha (Tamil Nadu, INC); Honourable Mrs. Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Member, Rajya Sabha (Tamil Nadu, DMK); Honourable Mr. M. S. Gill, Member, Rajya Sabha (Punjab, INC); Honourable Mr. N. K. Singh, Member, Rajya Sabha (Bihar, JDU); Honourable Mr. Naresh Gujral, Member, Rajya Sabha (Punjab, SAD); Honourable Prof. Saifuddin Soz, Member, Rajya Sabha (Jammu & Kashmir, INC); Honourable Mr. Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Member, Rajya Sabha (Madhya Pradesh, INC) and Honourable Mr. Shivanand Tiwari, Member, Rajya Sabha (Bihar, JDU). The Lok Sabha members who joined the dialogue today included Honourable Mr. Asaduddin Owaisi, Member, Lok Sabha (Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, AIMIM); Honourable Mr. Baijayant Jay Panda, Member Lok Sabha, (Kendrapara, Orissa, BJD); Honourable Mr. Bhartruhari Mahtab, Member Lok Sabha (Cuttack, Orissa, BJD); Honourable Mr. Jaswant Singh, Member, Lok Sabha (Darjeeling, West Bengal, BJP); Honourable Mr. Kirti (Jha) Azad, Member, Lok Sabha (Darbhanga, Bihar, BJP); Honourable Mr. Uday Singh, Member, Lok Sabha (Purnia, Bihar, BJP) and Honourable Ms. Supriya Sadanand Sule, Member, Lok Sabha (Baramati, Maharashtra, NCP).

The Pakistan will depart for Patna, Bihar on August 25 upon the invitation of Chief Minister Bihar, Honourable Mr. Nitish Kumar. The delegation will call on the Honourable Chief Minister Bihar, the Honourable Speaker Vidhan Sabha, Bihar and hold interactions with the MLAs and intellectuals in Patna. The delegation will also be hosted to a dinner reception by Honourable Mr. N. K. Singh, Member Rajya Sabha while in Patna.

PILDAT (www.pildat.org) has been facilitating dialogues between Parliamentarians of Pakistan and India in order to enhance the role of Parliamentary Diplomacy in improving neighbourly ties in the region and around the World. To-date, PILDAT has facilitated 3 rounds of Dialogues: in Islamabad on January 06-07, 2011; in Delhi on August 17-18, 2011 and the latest Dialogue was held on January 17-18, 2012 in Islamabad. The 4th and latest round concluded in New Delhi on August 23-24, 2012.