January 18, 2009	Sunday	Muharram 20, 1430

KARACHI, Jan 17: Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Khuhro has said that peace is in the interest of the people of Pakistan and India and reiterated the commitment of the people and the government of Pakistan to combating terrorism.

He expressed these views on Saturday after formally inaugurating a joint signature campaign underway in 12 Pakistani and 25 Indian cities against terrorism, war posturing and for promotion of cooperation and peace between the two countries.

Mr Khuhro called for a joint action against terrorism, which he described as the common enemy of the people of both countries.

He said terrorism had deprived Pakistan of its national leader, Benazir Bhutto. He assured civil society that as representatives of the people of Pakistan, the Sindh Assembly members would always strive for regional peace.

Earlier, Executive Director of PILER Karamat Ali briefed the provincial assembly speaker and members about the campaign. The meeting was attended by 35 MPAs, including Mohammad Nawaz Chandio, Dr Sikandar Mandro, Ms Nargis, N.D. Khan, Dr Ayub Shaikh and Mohammad Anwar Mehar.

Mr Ali, who was recently in New Delhi for the campaign, said the people of India and Pakistan wanted peace and were against the war hysteria being whipped up primarily by some government functionaries and a section of the media.

The statement, which urges the governments of both countries to practise zero tolerance for extremism and terrorism in the interest of the very sustenance and prosperity of both the countries, will be submitted to the prime ministers of Pakistan and India.

Recognising that the problem of terrorism in the two countries are qualitatively different, the signatories also urge both the governments to take appropriate initiatives to contain and root out the activities of all fanatic and terrorist groups and catch and punish perpetrators of any acts of terror in their respective countries to make the subcontinent safe and secure for all.

Both the governments should immediately set up a ‘joint action and investigative agency’ for total cooperation and mutual assistance to address and overcome the problem of terrorism effectively and without any further delay.

They are of the view that war can never be a solution but a beginning of insurmountable problems for both the countries. Hence both the governments should desist from war and immediately engage in meaningful and effective dialogue and actions to address the issue of terrorism along with all other outstanding problems.

Both the governments should follow in letter and spirit all the conventions and resolutions of Saarc against terrorism and for cooperation to secure an atmosphere of mutual trust to ensure security of all citizens and prosperity of the entire region.

They urge the media of both the countries to play a constructive role in this hour of crisis and strengthen positive attitudes to help resolve the outstanding problems. The media have also been asked to discourage escalation of conflict and adventurism that can jeopardize peace and prosperity of both the countries.

They observe that the peace process initiated between India and Pakistan has been producing good results for nearly five years. Unfortunately, the terror attacks in Mumbai suddenly changed the situation and tensions between the two countries once again reached dangerous levels, which are detrimental to the interests of both the countries.

A dependence on the political-bureaucratic-military establishments may not lead to reduction in tensions but on the contrary, this nexus can possibly entangle both the countries in another war.

In such a situation, assertion by the people and civil society groups of both the countries in favour of resolving the present crises through dialogue, cooperation and appropriate actions by both the governments to address terrorism and all other outstanding issues can certainly compel the establishments to eschew belligerence and adopt peaceful and appropriate processes to address all the issues and bring back normalcy.