NEW YORK, Nov 25: A group of 28 influential Pakistanis and Indian expatriates living in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom have setup a joint peace and goodwill mission and plan to visit the subcontinent in December.
"It is first such effort by the Indian and Pakistani activists who are committed to promoting peace between the two neighbours" the coordinator of the group, John Prahbudoss, said on Thursday
"The purpose of this joint mission is to encourage two neighbouring nuclear powers to find peaceful solutions to their long standing problems and help create friendship and goodwill between the people living on both sides of the border," said Mr Prahbudoss.
" It does not have the influence of any governments, their agencies not even the private business interests," he added. The visit is being financed by the expatriates themselves. They are all well placed professionals and business persons.
The joint delegation will begin its tour in Karachi on Dec 27 and later it will visit Peshawar, Quetta and Moenjodaro before reaching Islamabad on Dec 30. Members of the delegation will hold meetings with the president, the prime minister, the foreign minister and the opposition leaders.
The delegation will also meet grassroots student organizations, academics, women's groups and other NGOs. The joint delegation will visit Lahore and the birth place of Guru Nanak before crossing the Wagah border on foot.
On the Indian side, the delegation will visit Amritsar, Jammu, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai. In Delhi the delegation will meet the president, the prime minister, leaders of the ruling and the opposition parties.
The delegation will also meet women's groups, NGOs, the diplomatic community, academics and various student bodies. "The aspirations and concerns of the non-resident Indian and non-resident Pakistani communities should be known to the policy makers and the public," said Mr Prahbudoss.
