Pakistan and India, after a break of more than two years, have resumed the provision of work visas to each other's diplomats, The Express Tribune reported referring to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.

Pakistan in August granted visas to 33 Indian diplomats, while India - seven employees of the Pakistani embassy in New Delhi, reports TASS.

The resumption of the visas issuance could be the first step towards normalizing Pakistani-Indian relations to the level that preceded the sharp weakening of bilateral ties in 2019. This became possible after a secret meeting between the military of Pakistan and India held in Dubai in January this year with the mediation of the UAE government, at which a roadmap was drawn up for the normalization of relations in the near future. Its implementation was served by the agreement concluded in February between the Armed Forces of Pakistan and India on a ceasefire in Kashmir.

Diplomatic relations between the two neighboring states were frozen in 2019 after a suicide bomber from Islamabad-backed radical groups in India attacked an Indian military convoy in Jammu and Kashmir state, killing 44 members of the security forces.

India and Pakistan have disputed the territory of Kashmir since 1947, when British India, after gaining independence, was divided into two states along religious lines. At the moment, there is no state border in the region: its territory is divided by a line of control. In the Indian part, groups are actively working, seeking its separation from India. New Delhi accuses neighboring Pakistan of supporting extremists; Islamabad denies these accusations.

On August 5, 2019, New Delhi announced a decision to abolish the state of Jammu and Kashmir and create two union territories in this region - administrative units with fewer rights than the state. To this end, the Indian Parliament approved the abolition of the 370th article of the constitution, which endowed the state with a special status. Islamabad condemned this decision and refused to recognize it as an internal affair of India. In protest against the abolition of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan lowered diplomatic relations with India and expelled its ambassador.