Pakistan will shortly make a formal proposal to India on opening the Line of Control to facilitate movement of Kashmiri people on both sides of the divide to help in quake relief and rehabilitation works.

Modalities for throwing open the LoC will be settled through consultations between the two countries, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said late on Wednesday night after a meeting with Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin Malik.

"If Kashmiris wanted to help each other, this is the perfect opportunity," Aziz said.

• India to look into Pak request

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan would shortly make a formal proposal to India on opening the LoC to facilitate movement of Kashmiri people on both sides.

"Currently, internal discussions are taking place. We hope to contact the government of India shortly," she told local daily Dawn, adding the proposal will be made through diplomatic channels.

• Open LoC on humanitarian grounds

"We hope the proposal on Kashmiris' travel would facilitate contact between Kashmiris on both sides of LoC so that divided families can meet, share each other's grief and help each other in whatever way they can," Aslam added.

She said, "We would like to proceed to work out the modalities at the earliest." President Pervez Musharraf [Images] had on Tuesday made the offer to open the LoC to facilitating movement of Kashmiris who wanted to help in quake relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Also see:
Musharraf offers to throw open LoC for relief work
India welcomes Pak offer of opening up LoC