Punjab wants simple security clearance procedure on Pak-buses

Chandigarh, Mar 14 (UNI) The Punjab government has asked the Union Home Ministry to ease the visa and security check clearance that Indian passengers travelling to Pakistan by road through the Wagah check post have to undergo.

''Perhaps if the visa and security procedures are simplified, the occupancy rate on board the Amritsar-Lahore and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib buses could increase'', state Transport Minister Mohan Lal said while talking to reporters here today.

The minister pointed out even after obtaining a visa, security clearance of an Indian passenger takes a minimum of 15-days. ''This time gap has to be shortened for the route to become popular'', he said.

When pointed out to the losses that the two state transport luxury coaches plying between Amritsar-Lahore and Amritsar-Nankana Sahib were incurring, the Minister said, ''the losses on these two routes do not matter, as the road links were established as part of the Confidence Building Measures between India and Pakistan''. The minister was hopeful the occupancy rate on the two routes would increase.

Transport officials who were present at the press briefing said the occupancy on both the Lahore and Nankana Sahib buses had shown an improvement in the past few months. Buses to both these towns of Pakistan from Amritsar were introduced early last year.

The Punjab Roadways plies its luxury Volvo coaches on these two routes on two days of the week, while the Pakistan Tourism Corporation (PTC) also plies its luxury coaches on two days of the week.

UNI