LAHORE, Aug 16: The Kashmir issue is a potential threat to the ongoing Indo-Pakistan peace process.

This was stated by Indian scholar Gautam Navalakha while speaking on security and disarmament in South Asia during the second Dr Tanveer Memorial dialogue on 'Taking the SAARC spirit ahead: Learning from the European Union' at the Lahore Press Club here on Sunday.

He said that Kashmiris had taken up arms since 1987 after 40 years of peaceful freedom struggle. They would have to be included in the peace talks started under US pressure.

Mr Navalakha said the Indian army was fighting battles within its borders for the past 10 years. India had committed a big mistake by exploding the nuclear device. It had to incur huge expenditures on deployment of one million army men on borders for 10 months due to the resulting tension. At least 800 soldiers were killed during blasts of landmines laid on the borders.

He said the concept of national security through militarization required to be substituted by the concept of human security by making the bureaucracy in South Asian countries give up its hardline policies.

Armed forces in most of the countries in the region were being used against the people. He said India was spending Rs20 billion to Rs25 billion per annum on army operation in Kashmir alone and half of its army was engaged in conflicts within its borders.

The Indian scholar opined that an atmosphere of peace was prevailing in the region but the journey towards peace would take a long time. Encouragement of people-to-people contact by lifting of restrictions on people of the two countries to meet each other could go a long way in strengthening the peace process. The governments of India and Pakistan had benefited from the enmity between the two countries, he added.

Speaking on South Asian experience, Indian scholar Tappan K Bose said that India and Pakistan had started peace process on the one hand and raised defence budgets on the other.

He said a change in thinking and priorities of ruling classes was necessary for the success of the peace process. India alone was spending Rs800 billion on defence whereas Saarc secretariat budget was only 1.5 million dollar and it was being controlled by a joint secretary level official.

A change in the mindset of the Indian and Pakistani governments was also necessary for the success of the peace process which was not progressing as fast as expected. He said the practice of dubbing those talking about peace as enemy agents required to be given up and policy of preventing the people of the two countries from meeting each other reviewed.

The business community, he said, had the capability to make a way for it but tension between the two countries would not reduce without development of understanding between the people.

Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani said that Saarc had not prevented increase in the defence budget of India and Pakistan because it had not got time for resolving dispute like the European Union.

He said that India and Pakistan would have to resolve their major conflict on Kashmir for the success of the peace process. Conflict on water was more serious between India and Bangladesh than India and Pakistan.

The trend of closing the economies had been changed the world over and economies were now being opened up instead. The Saarc countries would now have to resolve their inter-state conflicts on the pattern of the EU.

MNA Chaudhry Manzur Ahmed said that enmity between India and Pakistan was between the ruling classes and not the people. Peace was possible between the two countries under the pressure of public opinion because the ruling classes were not in a position to wage war.

He said that issues like regional peace, inter-state terrorism and poverty would be raised at the South Asian Parliamentary Forum meeting in November.

Speaking on European experience, Dr Angelika Koster Lusack said the European Union had come into being as a result of resolution of 300 years old conflict between France and Germany and German reunion.

She said the EU had failed to stop the Yugoslavian war and its breakup. She said the EU was functioning successfully because of overcoming prejudices.

Rieta Rehman said that media could play a significant role in resolution of regional conflicts by creating awareness about the issues among the people. Dr Preet Rustagi stressed the need for empowerment of women.