The signing of a liberalised visa regime between India and Pakistan is aimed at improving the bilateral ties between the neighbouring countries.. The move, coming during external affairs minister S M Krishna\'s three-day visit to Pakistan, has seemingly laid the foundation for greater people-to-people and civil society contacts.

Under the new norms, group tourist visas will become a reality. Businessmen will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, while visa-on-arrival facilities have been extended to children and the elderly at the Wagah-Attari border. E

ven rules governing entry and exit protocols for visitors are set to be relaxed.

Given that India-Pakistan relations have historically been plagued by stereotypes, easier movement of people between the two countries can help mitigate the us-versus-them mentality. For far too long extremist groups in both countries have exploited this sense of distrust to further their vested interests.

This in turn has coloured bilateral relations, which continue to be viewed through the prism of Partition. That Pakistani school textbooks have seen a progressive rise in hate content vis-a-vis non-Muslims and India points to the success hate-mongers in strategic places have had.

The new categories of visas have been defined as under:

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