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| July 17, 2005 | Sunday | Jumadi-us-Sani 9, 1426 |
‘LoC not accepted as border’
WASHINGTON, July 16: A two-day Kashmir conference on Capitol Hill, which brought together academics, politicians and journalists from both India and Pakistan as well as the valley, has rejected the conversion of the Line of Control (LoC) into a permanent border. “It is resolved that the cease-fire line as an option is totally unacceptable. However, pragmatic routes to conflict resolution be identified,” said a joint resolution issued on Saturday.
The resolution, adopted unanimously, emphasized that demilitarization in Jammu and Kashmir will give a considerable boost to the peace process between India and Pakistan.
The resolution also called for the cessation of all human-rights violations in Kashmir because “it would l help develop the confidence of common people in the peace process.”
Cessation of such violations, the resolution said, would also build up the trust of the people of Kashmir “in the wisdom of the political leadership pursuing the peace process.”
“The conference calls for protection for all minorities. All the displaced persons including Kashmiri pundits should be facilitated to return to their ancestral home,” the resolution said.
“The conference welcomed all the Kashmir-specific confidence building measures and urged India to release all political prisoners to strengthen the peace process.”
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