PESHAWAR, April 28: The Peshawar University Teachers Association (Puta) has underlined the need for setting up teachers bodies and students unions at the regional level to promote understanding and cooperation among educational institutions of the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

Speaking at a news conference here at the university campus, association chief Arbab Khan Afridi said exchange of educational delegations at the Saarc level would pave the way for a lasting peace in the region.

Pakistan and India, he said, had fought three wars, but accumulated poverty in their backyard and promoted hatred between the two peoples. He said people-to-people link and friendship would improve their ties.

He said a 53-member team of Puta had visited Delhi, Jaypur, Ajmer Sharif, Mumbai, Lucknow, Agra and Aligarh from March 28 to April 20 and held meetings with Indian academicians and teachers. People of both the countries wanted to establish working relations with each other in every field, he told newsmen.

He urged Islamabad and New Delhi to exempt visiting teachers, students and newsmen from reporting to the police departments concerned and asked them to set up their consulates at Karachi, Lahore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Lucknow and facilitate visa issuance.

Mr Afridi said India was ahead of Pakistan in education. They made books available under low-cost schemes and kept their fee structure lower, he explained. He suggested to restore Khokhrapar rail and Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road links for the intending visitors and increase in the frequency of train service.

The teachers body chief said like India, youth hostels and guest houses on universities campuses should be constructed for the visiting delegates. The ban on free availability of newspapers and books in the Saarc countries should be lifted forthwith to help people understand the pluralism in politics of the regional societies, Mr Afridi observed.