LAHORE, May 27: The President of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Iftikhar Ali Malik, has appealed to the international community to urge India to refrain from aggression against Pakistan.

He has written in this connection to Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, Secretary General of SAARC in Kathmandu, Secretary General of ECO in Tehran and Secretary General of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Pakistan, according to a press release.

Malik has stated in his letter that the war-mongering by the Indian leadership had resulted in heightened tension between the two rival countries, and was a serious threat to peace and stability in the South Asian region.

As head of the apex organization of trade and industry in Pakistan, he expressed full support of the business community to the President Pervez Musharraf and his government in defence of the national frontiers.

“If peace and stability in this region is jeapordized through India’s hostile stance, its ill-effects will spread to other parts of the globe as well,” the letter said.

Malik said Pakistan is a peace loving country striving to avert bloodshed and to adjust in line with the new global business order governed by the WTO. Pakistan leadership is showing tremendous tolerance in the face of Indian rhetoric, he added.

Addressing Indian businessmen, the FPCCI chief asked them to act as a pressure group urging their government to vouch for peace and resolve the issue of Kashmir on the negotiation table. An aggressive stance will only provoke sentiments here to respond in the same coin.

He pointed out that if Pakistan suffers, India will never flourish either. This is a nuclear era, and the number of soldiers and weapons on any side of the border does not count, he remarked.—APP