Date:05/11/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/11/05/stories/2005110512570400.htm

New Delhi

India, Pak set to enter a new phase of cooperation

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Moving beyond opening up borders to help families separated to come closer, India and Pakistan are set to enter a new phase of cooperation that would strengthen common bonds in a "historic" way. With the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) submitting a report to the Ministry of External Affairs on the status of the Khatas Raj temple complex in Pakistan recently, the two countries might be on the verge of a different kind of cultural diplomacy.

"The Ministry of External Affairs requested us to send a representative to study the temple complex in Pakistan. We sent an expert a few months ago to visit the site and see what needed to be done. We submitted that report to the Ministry three weeks ago; now they have to take it forward with the High Commission in Pakistan," said ASI Director-General C. Babu Rajeev.

Located some 40 km from the modern city of Chakwal in Pakistan, legend has it that the Khatas Raj temple complex dates back to the era of the Mahabharata. Figuring prominently in the epic, the lake in the complex is believed to have magical powers according to folklore. An important religious destination, the complex is slated to be nominated as a World Heritage Site by the Evacuee Trust Property Board.