Opposing Bollywood movies depicting Indo-Pak wars, Pakistan's Foreign MinisterKhurshid Mehmood Kasuri said such films should not be made and people should not patronise them. "IfIndia can make 10 such movies, Lahore and Karachi can produce three to four. If we go back to 1949 and putforth Pakistan's case on Kashmir, it won't help... let civil society play its role... such movies should notbe made," Kasuri told a press conference here. Kasuri said the media from both the countries was"fiercely independent" and also critical even in the field of Foreign Relations.
Pakistan also reacted coolly to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's suggestion of celebrating150th anniversary of the 1857 uprising jointly by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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"Well, this is a food for thought. 1857 has a different connotation forPakistan, India and Bangladesh. We will try to study it," Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamalitold reporters after the end of the three-day SAARC summit here.
Replying to a question about easing visa regime between the two countries, he said"several factors have to be worked out."
"One has to visualise that Islamabad was cloudy yesterday and it is sunny today.Indeed it is a good omen," Jamali said.
To another question, Jamali said the SAARC nations had already formed a joint taskforce to tackle the drug menace.
Jamali said Pakistan was not opposed to a pipeline from Iran through it to supplynatural gas to India to meet its energy needs.
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He said he had "humbly and politely" raised the issue with his Indiancounterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during their meeting two days ago, since it would "help India more thanus... we are not opposed to it".
Observing that the pipeline could pass through Pakistan from Iran, he said "nowthe ball is in the Indian Prime Minister's court... I have agreed to it".
Jamali said Pakistan was self-sufficient with regard to natural gas and that theproject would "contribute" to "better prospects" for India.
The proposal for supply of Iranian gas to India was mooted during Vajpayee's visit toIran three years back and deliberations had been conducted between the two countries on whether it should besupplied through a undersea pipeline or an overground route.
