KARACHI, Sept 8: India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI) President Senator Ilyas Ahmed Bilour has called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to promote peace and harmony in the region.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Mr Bilour said only peace and harmony should prevail in relations between India and Pakistan so that the business community of the two countries could work for economic development of the region, which was essential to help the majority of the population in coming out of the abject poverty.

The IPCCI chief welcomed the decision for a cease fire on the line of control in Kashmir. He expressed the hope that the proposed meeting of President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York would help accelerate peace and harmony.

He appealed to the political leaders of the two countries to help normalize bilateral relations as the people did not want any more wars. "They don't want to live always in fear, they shun war-mongering and want to see amicable settlement of all bilateral disputes.