March 18, 2007	Sunday	Safar 28, 1428

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LAHORE, March 17: Prominent Indian journalist Kuldip Nayyer has proposed a joint control of rivers by India and Pakistan to facilitate the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Speaking at a meeting of the India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Saturday, he said that river water was an important issue in Indo-Pak relations and Pakistan was worried about Kashmir because all of its rivers originated there. Both India and Pakistan should control jointly all the six rivers in Kashmir so that neither could use it for pressuring the other, he said.

He said more and more people in both countries were favouring normalisation of relations as 13 years ago, only 14 candles were lighted in Amritsar on August 14 but the number swelled to half a million last year.

He said that India and Pakistan should normalise their relations viewing regional cooperation. Countries from Afghanistan to Burma would one day become one economic unit without compromising their sovereignty, he said. India being a developed country in the region could facilitate Pakistan and both countries should relax restrictions on free movement of people, he said.

He said that one million people had died due to riots in Punjab at the time of Partition and national assemblies of India and Pakistan should adopt resolutions regretting the riots.

He said the Quaid-i-Azam had stated during a visit to Sialkot before Partition that Pakistani soldiers would fight for India in case a third country attacked India. Pakistan, however, did not support India during its war with China because of domination of its politics by religion, he said.

He said the Quaid-i-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had stated that both countries would be good friends like Canada and the US and if France Germany could normalise relations after centuries of fighting, Hindus and Muslims could also overcome hatred.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Zonal Chairman Azhar Saeed Butt said that people of India and Pakistan wanted to meet each other because they had common culture and traditions. They were, however, not being allowed to meet with each other because of visa restrictions. Only 10 Indians had been given visas of 42 who wanted to tour Pakistan to attend the meeting of India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said.

Former Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry president Tariq Sayeed said both countries should resume business relation first and core issues would be settled automatically.

He said that businessmen had prevented the US president from imposing sanctions on China on the pretext of human rights violations telling him that they had invested $20 billion there. After that the US stopped talking about human rights violations in China, he said.

He said that had India and Pakistan not wasted resources on defence during the past 60 years, they would have been developed countries like Japan.

Situation was, however, now changing, he said, adding that Pakistan was engaged in business with 190 countries and also had formed its first joint chamber of commerce and industry with India.

World Punjabi Conference President Vikram Jeet Singh said that India and Pakistan should promote direct trade through Wagah border instead of indirect trade through Dubai. He demanded that 100 businessmen from each country be allowed to travel to other country without any restriction.

Indian delegation member Bhopinder Singh said that his Dubai-based company had received an order for supply of 200 Volvo buses to a Karachi-based company and it also planned to set up its plant in Punjab.