India to reopen consulate in Karachi

India plans to reopen its consulate in the port city of Karachi, said Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal.

Sabharwal said Tuesday that talks were underway for the reopening of the Indian Consulate in Karachi to facilitate Pakistani nationals applying for visas, reported Geo News from Sindh province.

The envoy was interacting with the media during his visit to the Bhutto family mausoleum at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

Sabharwal said the Bhutto family had sacrificed their lives for the sake of democracy.

With some 70 percent of Pakistanis seeking Indian visas being from Sindh, the two countries had agreed during the visit to New Delhi of then Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in April 2005 to reopen consulates in Karachi and Mumbai.

The Pakistani government had in December 1994 ordered the Indian consulate in Karachi to close down, saying it “cannot allow a centre for sabotage, subversion and terrorism to continue to operate within Pakistan”.