India has invited Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik to visit New Delhi on December 11-13 for operationalisation of liberalized visa agreement between the two countries. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said, he has sent the invite through the diplomatic channel. He told reporters that Malik's birthday falls on December 12 and he had expressed his desire to spend the day at the Taj Mahal and the government would facilitate his visit to the historic city.

The new liberalised Indo-Pak visa pact replaces a 38-year-old restrictive visa agreement and paves the way for time-bound visa approval and greater people-to-people contact and trade.