New Delhi, June 17: More than a month after a delegation of Pakistani Parliamentarians visited India, 14 members of Parliament today have left for Pakistan to strengthen people-to-people bonds. The delegation of Indian lawmakers, comprising members from both houses of Parliament, various states and parties, will be in Pakistan till June 25, its leader and Rajya Sabha member Kuldip Nayyar told a news agency here. The veteran journalist said the intention behind the visit, planned soon after the Pakistani delegation came here, was to "reach out to the civil society". "The attempt is to help the peace initiative of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and see normalisation of bilateral relations," Nayyar said. "Such trips can help strengthen people-to-people contacts," he said.
He, however, termed as "unfortunate" the comments of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Kargil in an interview to a TV channel but hoped it would not affect the aim of their visit.
Scheduled to visit Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, the parliamentarians will interact with business leaders, religious parties, lawyers, academicians, human rights activists, women`s groups and think tanks, Nayyar said.
Bureau Report