KARACHI, Oct 18: The Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) has welcomed the move to de-escalate tension between the two countries.

In a statement, the PIPFPD said the decision to pull back troops on the peace time positions by India and subsequently followed by Pakistan is a welcome move.

It hoped that the logical next step would be to restore full diplomatic relations and initiate other confidence-building measures without any further delay.

The resumption of dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues have to follow without undue delays. The NGO felt that India’s concerns about ‘cross-border terrorism’ are not unwarranted. However, New Delhi must recognize that it needs to address other dimensions of the Kashmir problems besides the military and ‘security-related aspects’.

The Indian state needs to talk to the people of Kashmir to bring the militancy in the valley to an end, it maintained.

The recent pronouncements of de-escalation measures are likely to take more than a million soldiers, on both sides, back to their peacetime positions, thus ending an utterly senseless and costly stand-off between the two nuclear neighbours.

If similar steps continue, it will undoubtedly take the nuclear rivals away from a dangerous military conflict, it held.

At the same time, it urged the governments of India and Pakistan to draw a balance sheet of the military stand-off and make it public so that poverty-stricken people of their countries could know the criminal and ruthless burden on their exchequers.

The senseless confrontation has cost the two counties billions of rupees which could have been better spent on the development and welfare of the people. This kind of heavy financial drains to please hawks on both sides are nothing but a continuation of nuclear madness. It is ridiculous and serves only the interests of mindless hawks who want to create hostility, enmity and hatred among the people.

The PIPFPD hoped that the decision to withdraw troops will now be followed by more steps that will have a positive impact on Indo-Pakistan relations.

The first and foremost need for the two countries is the resumption of full diplomatic relations followed by further steps, it emphasised.

At the same time, it reiterated its demand and urged both the governments to restore road, rail and air links, snapped in December, with immediate effect.

The easing up of visa rules, and the opening of an unconditional dialogue to resolve all out-standing issues can help in confidence-building measures.