Paving the way for the signing of a liberalised visa pact with Pakistan, the government on Thursday cleared the bilateral visa agreement which will now be inked when home secretaries of both countries meet in Islamabad in May end.
The bilateral visa agreement to be signed with Pakistan was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security on Thursday.
The liberalised visa pact fulfils the promise made by India and Pakistan last year to ease travel restrictions for building people to people contact and increasing trade between the two neighbours. Home ministry officials said on Thursday that Pakistan has agreed to hold the HS level talks in May end and the dates will be finalised soon. The liberalised visa pact will be one of the highlights of the meeting between home secretary R.K. Singh and his Pakistani counterpart K. Siddique Akbar apart from the setting up of a hotline between the two offices. “The setting up of the hotline between the home secretaries of both countries is in an advanced stage,” an MHA official said. With cross-border terror activities remaining the prime concern, the home ministry is hopeful that the fresh channel of communication would bridge the trust deficit and remind Pakistan of its commitment towards fighting terrorism. During the last HS-level talks, both countries had decided to set up a hotline for “real-time’’ information sharing with regard to terror threats and movement of militants. For now, the hotline is expected to be non-encrypted.
What comes as a major confidence building measure, the fresh bilateral pact with Pakistan will ease restrictions on travel for various categories of persons, including businessmen, senior citizens, children and spouses married across the border among others. Under the agreement, senior citizens from Pakistan and children below 15 years will be issued visa on arrival at the Attari border. The businessmen with multi-entry non-police reporting visas, can visit five cities instead of three as at present.
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Breastfeeding & ARV therapy check HIV: study
TEENA THACKER
NEW DELHI, APRIL 26
Antiretroviral therapy along with breastfeeding for a long period could help reduce HIV transmission from mother to child, a new study has revealed. In fact the study published in the Lancet has suggested that stopping breastfeeding before six months might increase infant morbidity. Experts say that the study gains significance for India where vertical transmission from mother to child is huge.
The Breastfeeding, Antiretrovirals, and Nutrition study conducted in Malawi between 2004 and 2010, included about 2,369 HIV-infected breastfeeding mothers and their babies were assigned to one of three 28-week regimens: maternal triple antiretroviral (849), daily infant nevirapine (852), or control group (668).