NEW DELHI, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Lawmakers from Indian Kashmir will visit Pakistan early next year, news reports said Friday.
The Asian Age newspaper reported that the delegation would be led by Ghulam Nabi Azad, a member of India's ruling Congress party who is the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir state.
This would be the first visit to Pakistan by Indian Kashmir's elected representatives and an indication that Islamabad has finally recognized those it had dismissed as India's puppets in the past. The news report said the delegation could become a precursor to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Pakistan.
Singh had accepted an invitation from Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
"This could materialize in April-May, toward the end of the third round of composite dialogue between India and Pakistan that begins in January," said the report.
Members of all of the parties represented in the Kashmir assembly will be part of the delegation, a senior member of the ruling Congress party said.
The delegation was expected to meet with Musharraf and hold talks with him on bilateral issues, including Kashmir.
Both sides claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over it.
