LAHORE: One hundred and fifteen delegates from India are expected to participate in the next joint session of the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) in Lahore.

The decision in this regard was made in a meeting that took place at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) office on Saturday. Mohammad Tahseen, the convener of the PIPFPD, announced that the delegates, including social activists, artists, actors, scholars, and poets, were expected to cross the Wagah border to be a part of the session.

Kishwar Naheed, Islamabad president of the PIPFPD, informed the house that a meeting with Interior Minister Sheheryar Khan Afridi was held by the members of the forum, led by I.A. Rehman, last week. She added that the minister had given assurance of full cooperation, especially in facilitating clearance of the visas, for 115 Indian delegates.

The list of the delegates with necessary information had been handed over to the ministry for necessary action. The meeting hoped that the joint convention of the PIPFD would add to the efforts of bringing peace and normalcy to the relationship between India and Pakistan.

It was also decided in the meeting there would be 150 Pakistani delegates from all over the country who would participate in the joint convention. The committee will finalise the programme in consultation with the Indian counterparts in the coming two weeks.

The meeting was attended by the office-bearers and selected members from all provinces and Islamabad.

The office-bearers of the Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) and Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) also attended the meeting. The participants included Shakeel Waheedullah (Peshawar), Tahir Husain Khan (Quetta), Secretary General Anis Haroon (Karachi) Karamat Ali (Karachi), Tahira Abdullah and Shahid Fiaz from Islamabad, and I.A. Rehman, Hussain Naqi, Rashed Rehman, Aamir Sohail (PUJ) and Saeeda Diep from Lahore addressed the National Committee.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2019