TRAVEL: Dragging feet on senior citizens

After allowing the elephant to pass through, why hold it back by pulling at its tail?

In October last year, the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India agreed during their meeting in Islamabad to exempt senior citizens (65 years or above) from visa. The agreement implied that the two governments had considered all aspects of the matter and found no reason to deny the exemption.

All that was to be done next was to issue a notification so that the immigration authorities allowed visa-free entry to senior citizens. That was something that should have been done in a few weeks in the normal course. However, about five have passed and the notification is still awaited.

The senior citizens cannot wait indefinitely for the notification because they may not live long enough. They want to meet relatives and friends (perhaps for the last time), visit the places where they once lived or pay homage at some holy shrine. They certainly deserve special consideration on humanitarian grounds. In the same spirit, they should also be exempted from reporting to the police because it will become unnecessary after waiving visa itself.

The exemption from visa will benefit both railway and bus services between the two countries as the senior citizens will increase substantially the number of passengers. At present, the traffic is very low because of difficulty in getting visas.

What next after the notification is issued? The two governments should sign an agreement to reduce every year the age limit for visa-free entry by five years. For example, on January 01, 2007, the age should be reduced to 60 years. On January 01, 2008, it may come down to 55 years. And so on. In the meantime, the Kashmir issue will be resolved and the way will be paved for relaxation in visa procedures for everybody. The senior citizens may then take their children and grandchildren with them on their sentimental journey.

February 22, 2006