ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: The leader of an Indian jurists delegation on Sunday pleaded with the legal community for persuading the people of both India and Pakistan to accept the Line of Control (LoC) as permanent border.

"Once we are able to convince the general public about LoC, it will not be difficult for the two countries to finally move towards this direction," said Adish C Aggarwal, Convener Indian Council of Jurists and Chairman All India Bar Association.

This is a general feeling among one million lawyers of India that the two countries would get nothing out of the conflict, Aggarwal said while talking to reporters at the office of Pakistan Bar Council in the Supreme Court building here.

Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Rasheed A Rizvi, former Attorney General Qazi Mohammad Jamil and members of PBC were also present. Other delegates, however, differed with Aggarwal's point of view saying that it was his personal opinion and that the idea had not even been endorsed in India.

They, however, agreed that only peace in the region could guarantee development and progress, and help ameliorate the overall condition of the people by establishing more schools, hospitals and providing them with the basic amenities of life.

Aggarwal is leading a 15-member high level delegation of jurists and All India Bar Association. The delegation is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of PBC. Aggarwal said the people associated with the legal profession could play an effective role in establishing permanent peace in the region since they enjoyed highest respect among the general public.

"The leaders of the two countries are talking since long but they have not yet achieved anything fruitful for the people of the two countries," he reminded. About the third party mediation on Kashmir, Aggarwal said the issue was not before any court and that "we both were talking with each other to identify the possibilities".

He announced that a PBC delegation from the Pakistani side would reciprocate the gesture of goodwill by visiting India on December 20. About the independence of judiciary, Justice Faizanuddin, former judge of the Indian Supreme Court, said judiciary in India was more independent than in any country of the world and added that there was not even a single instance when executive had ever interfered during his 16 years of judicial career.

The current visit, he said, was part in the chain of efforts to bring about love, affection, strengthening ties and develop understanding between the peoples of the two countries by removing mistrust.

We are the progeny of the same ancestors but political decisions have divided us, the judge said, adding the politicians could divide frontiers but not our efforts if we believe that we are one. "We have brought the message that we can achieve nothing out of enmity," he observed.

Justice D S Tewatia, former chief justice of Calcutta High Court, however, made it clear that the delegation was not here to deliberate on political issues but feared that the two countries would eventually be heading towards war if the current negotiations failed.

One of the members of the delegation said both the countries had spent Rs0.52 million and 0.57 million respectively on each soldier when the same amount could be utilized for providing potable water to the people living in far-flung areas and removing the rampant poverty prevalent in the two countries.