PTI

NEW DELHI

THE move to ease travel between India and Pakistan for certain categories got the nod of Union Cabinet on Thursday amid growing ties between the two countries.

The Cabinet gave its approval to signing of an agreement that would allow common people from either country to visit three earmarked cities, sources said.

The government has also shown its inclination to supply locomotives to Pakistan, to meet the shortage of engines.

The businessmen with multi-entry non-police reporting visas, can visit five cities instead of three as at present, they said.

The provision will apply to business persons whose credentials are certified by the chambers on the both sides.

From India, it will be FICCI and from Pakistani side, it will be Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI).

The elderly people would be exempt from police reporting, as per the proposed agreement, the sources said. The decision comes ahead of the meeting of Home Secretaries of the two countries, which is expected to take place in Islamabad in the last week of May.

The agreement could be signed at that meeting if Pakistan Cabinet also approves it, the sources said. The two countries decided to ease visa regulations during the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in New Delhi on April 8
The agreement is expected to give boost to the bilateral trade which is low at 2.7 billion dollars at present.

Reflecting broadening of bilateral relations, India is inclined to supply locomotives along with transfer of technology to Pakistan in response to a request from that country.

A team of Pakistani railway officials is in New Delhi for discussing the modalities for cooperation in the sector, Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal said.

The three-member team of the Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consultancy Services Limited (PRACS) held preliminary discussions with the officials of Railway Infrastructure, Technical and Economic Services (RITES).