The much-expected reopening of Indian and Pakistani Consulates in Karachi and Mumbai respectively in the New Year was delayed on Sunday as Islamabad was yet to get its temporary office ready while India completed renovation work of its buildings and awaited the nod from the government here to open it.
As per the Joint Statement issued during President Pervez Musharraf's visit to India in April last year, both countries had agreed to open the Consulates on the New Year.
The reopening could now take awhile as Pakistan is still in the process of finalising its temporary location ready to run its office.
As per the understanding, both the Consulates were to have been opened simultaneously.
"There are some location issues in Mumbai being finalised. As much as we would have liked to open the Consulates in time, the delay was due to location problems. We are trying to open as soon as possible, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam said.
The agreement to open the Consulates which had been closed since 1992 was seen as a diplomatic breakthrough between the two countries as Pakistan has agreed to open its Consulate in Mumbai without insisting on its demand for acquisition of Jinnah House, the residence of its founder, which India has converted into a SAARC museum.
Subsequently Pakistan selected a commercial area shown by the Maharastra government to construct its permanent building and currently in the process of finalising its temporary location to run its Consulate office.
{{/usCountry}}Subsequently Pakistan selected a commercial area shown by the Maharastra government to construct its permanent building and currently in the process of finalising its temporary location to run its Consulate office.
{{/usCountry}}The finalisation of the temporary office was stated to be the reason for delay in reopening.