India, Pakistan talk ways to boost ties

Secretary of India's Ministry of Culture Neena Ranjan (C) shakes hands with her Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas (R) as Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan looks on before the start of two-day talks in New Delhi yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

The two-day talks in the Indian capital are part of peace discussions known as the Composite Dialogue Process revived by the neighbours earlier this year.

On the agenda are matters such as easier visa access, increasing the volume of religious tourism between the two countries and the lifting of a ban by Pakistan on the broadcast of Indian television channels, the official said.

The ban has been in place since 2002 when the two nuclear rivals came to the brink of their fourth war since their independence from British rule in 1947.

The Indian team is led by Neena Ranjan, secretary in India's ministry of culture, while the Pakistani delegation is headed by Ranjan's counterpart Jalil Abbas, a culture ministry official said.

The eight-member Pakistani delegation arrived in New Delhi on Monday, he added.

India and Pakistan, who have fought two of their three wars over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, decided to restart the peace talks in January.