Star News has indo-pak relations on the top spot in its agenda. Star's Hindi news arm will cover the upcoming SAARC Summit at Islamabad.

The summit special, Kitne Door, Kitne Paas will be a part of National Reporter special edition. The special scheduled to air from 2 to 8 January at 8:30 pm, is will showcase live coverage, interviews and discussions with political leaders and the common man from both sides of the border.

Star News will air live coverage of the SAARC Summit from January 4 - 6, 2004, showing developments as they unfold at Islamabad.

Star New's correspondents Ajay Kumar and Rahul Mahajan have been stationed in Islamabad for the summit, says a company release.

The programme will focus on the progress made on various issues that influence Indo-Pak relations. The programme will analyse the impact of the current Vajpayee-Musharraf initiatives on the common man - whose families and lives are divided across borders.

In the concluding episodes, the special will take a peek into the homes and lives of three such families representing both sides of the border whose expectations mirror the 'real' human issues that go beyond political posturing.

Also included in the special is an episode featuring an open forum discussions with Indians and Pakistanis - across Islamabad, Kashmir, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Karachi, and even the diaspora in Dubai - whose lives have been affected by strained Indo-Pak relations. The forum will voice the views, grievances and expectations of public vis-a-vis the summit and Indo-Pak relations.

Amongst the interviews included in the special are Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former Indian PM's I K Gujral and V P Singh's interview. Experts participating in discussions include editors of leading Indian media like Times of India's Dilip Padgaonkar, Outlook's Vinod Mehta, Asian Age's MJ Akbar and Jansatta's Prabhat Joshi.

Besided the media editors the special will also include interviews of Indo-Pak experts like former foreign secretary Salman Haider, columnist Jyoti Malhotra, foreign secretary shushant shareen and strategy expert Retd Lt Gen Ashok Mehta.

The expert commentators from Pakistan include member national assembly Sherry Rahman,Nawa-i-Waqt, editor Javed Siddique, and former foreign secretary Tanvir Ahmed Khan.

The 12th SAARC Summit is expected to hold talks and finalize the draft agreement on Safta, which would give a major boost to free trade within the region besides working towards cordial relations among member nations. Also on the agenda would be inclusion of new nations to the association.