Lawmakers return from India: Independence Day celebrations
By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE, Aug 15: Four out of nine Pakistani parliamentarians, who had travelled to India to celebrate the Independence Day, returned home on Friday afternoon after an overnight stay in Amritsar.
The lawmakers had left for Amritsar on Thursday afternoon amid hopes of peace and improved relations between the two countries under the aegis of the People for Peace, an organization of peace and rights activists.
“Our visit has strengthened our belief that peoples of both countries have a strong wish for peace, and want their leadership to fight against poverty and illiteracy,” PPP MNA Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters here on their arrival.
Terming the visit a “wonderful” experience, he said it had helped people of the two sides to communicate and understand each other’s points of view. The delegation was accorded a warm welcome, he added.
“During our visit, we celebrated independence days of both countries. It has reinforced our commitment to carry on our efforts for peace between the two countries. We also participated in the midnight candlelight vigil at Wagah on Thursday besides attending a cultural evening and meeting people from various walks of life during our stay in Amritsar,” he said.
It was the second delegation of the Pakistani parliamentarians to visit India. The first delegation had visited India in May.
Though peace activists from both sides of the border have been organizing the candlelight vigil at Wagah border for many years to celebrate the independence of Pakistan and India, it was for the first time that lawmakers participated in the celebrations.
A large number of peace and rights activists had gathered at the Wagah border to send the delegation off to India. The delegation carried white flags as they crossed over the border.
Noted Indian journalist and lawmaker Kuldip Nayyar had crossed the border into Pakistan to take the delegates with him.
