KARACHI: Seminar calls for trust-building measures
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 1: The move to open channels of communication between Pakistan and India augur well for reducing tensions in the region but progress can be made only if the beginning is made through talks not at the top, or the prime ministers’, level but a lower one.
This observation was made by former governor of Balochistan Lt Gen (Retd) F.S. Lodi at a ‘roundtable’ on “Building Peace in South Asia: Challenges for Civil Society and Media”, which was organized by South Asian Editors’ Forum in a local hotel on Thursday.
The participants included Javed Jabbar, founder convener of the Forum, Fariha Haroon, Prof Khalida Ghous, S.W. Scheik, Aftab Iqbal, Asad Abid Kazi, Sajjad Mir, Nusrat Nasrullah, Jasmine Manzoor, Nafees Ghaznavi and representatives of some non-governmental organizations.
Aslam Kazi who, being the president of the Forum chaired the ‘roundtable’, recalled the steps being taken by it for reducing tensions between the two countries. He said the Forum’s scheduled November 2002 meeting, which was to be hosted by India, could not materialize because of the flared-up situation on the borders.
Summing up the discussion, Javed Jabbar paid tribute to the workers who made sacrifices in connection with the ‘Labour Day’. He specially acknowledged the services rendered by the South Asian women.
Terming Kashmir the core issue which gives rise to tensions between the two countries, he called for steps on both sides — particularly on the Indian one — to adopt a more friendly attitude to pave way for finding an honourable solution of the Kashmiri issue.
Referring to the recent peace overtures from both sides of the border, Gen Lodi said if talks were held at top level their outcome would not be different from those in Lahore and Agra as leaders on both the sides had to take into account their constituencies, where many were not yet ready to accept the ground realities.
Gen Lodi said in order to take the peace process forward, talks at lower levels be initiated first to determine the common ground and for taking confidence building measures before taking up the key issues.
As a first step to reducing tensions, both the countries should pull out their troops from the borders as they could not afford to go on living with tensions running high for another 55 years.
Prof Khalida Ghous urged the media on both the sides to play a more positive role, instead of projecting their governments’ points of view only. She said there was a need to open up a debate on the alternatives available to solve the Kashmiri issue as every move to create harmony and peace in the region is always overshadowed by the problem.
Other participants highlighted the need to open trade and facilitate people on both sides to have interaction as a first step to reduce tensions and pave way for creating goodwill.
