The Hindu : India initiates action on three CBMs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 29, 2003

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India initiates action on three CBMs

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI OCT. 28. Hoping that Pakistan's response would be positive, India today unilaterally announced steps to implement three of the 12 confidence building measures (CBMs) proposed by it on October 22.

At a briefing here today, an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Chairman had written to his Pakistani counterpart in Pakistan suggesting the addition of more buses to augment the capacity on the Delhi-Lahore route. For security reasons, he suggested that these buses move in a convoy.

At present, four buses with a total capacity of 140 passengers run every week from Delhi to Lahore. Bookings open a month before the departure and the demand for seats is high.

The second step relates to instructing the immigration authorities to allow senior citizens to reach the Wagah checkpoint by their own means and cross the international border on foot. People over 65 years will thus be spared the inconvenience of queuing up with other Delhi-Lahore passengers for the lengthy customs check.

The third initiative is for providing advanced treatment to Pakistani children. The spokesperson said that steps had been taken to admit the second lot of 20 Pakistani children needing treatment in Indian hospitals.

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