KARACHI, Oct 4: Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh said on Tuesday that the Indian consulate in Karachi should start functioning by the end of December or early January.

Talking to reporters at the Governor’s House after his meeting with Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, he said that the Pakistani consulate in Bombay would also start functioning simultaneously.

Mr Singh said he was visiting Karachi after 23 years. “Now we have very good relations,” he said, adding that when he was ambassador of India to Pakistan he used to visit Karachi.