Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Welcoming Prime Minister's statement on killing of Indian soldiers, External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on Tuesday that India has taken a very firm position on the beheading issue with Pakistan.
On the heightened border tensions, Khurshid said “What happened on the LoC is totally unacceptable and barbaric.”
Referring to yesterday's Flag Meeting between India and Pakistan on the LoC, he said, "we may not be happy with the outcome but the process is still on."
Talking tough over the January 8 incident in Mendhar area of Jammu and Kashmir, Khurshid said, “Visa on arrival decision not called off but delayed.”
India today had put on hold the operationalisation of visa on arrival for senior citizens of Pakistan amid mounting tension on the Line of Control(LoC).
Government sources said the decision was taken after several agencies sought clarification on facilities to be offered to Pakistani citizens, though the continued tension along the LoC following the killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops could be the apparent reason.
The visa on arrival facility for Pakistani nationals above 65 years was supposed to start today at the Attari Integrated Check Post (ICP), under the new visa agreement between India and Pakistan signed in September 2012 to ease cross-border travel as part of Confidence Building Measures(CBM).
First Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 17:35