LAHORE, Feb 7: A peace march organized by People's Forum for Peace and Democracy on The Mall here on Saturday, was attended by scores of people.
The demonstration was led by forum's National Committee member Dr Mubashir Hasan and Lahore president Liaquat Ali. Also prominent among the participants were Farrukh Sohail Goendi, Tariq Farooq, Afzal Malik, Altaf Baloch and Nighat Saeed Khan.
Carrying banners and placards, the marchers raised slogans like "Pakistan-India Friendship Zindabad" and "We Want Peace and Not War".
Some women attending courses at the Institute of Women Studies also took part in the march which started from forum's Temple Road office. They included Ananya Das Gupta, Dr Uma Chakravarti (India), Indika Abysekara (Sri Lanka) and Azmin Akhtar and Mahjabin (Bangladesh).
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Hasan emphasized the need for including Kashmiris in the peace talks starting between Pakistan and India from Feb 17. The agenda for talks should include resolution of problems of Kashmiris, he said.
He said the march was organized to press for resolution of the Kashmir dispute as per wishes of Kashmiris. "We welcome the Pakistan-India talks but we want to make it clear that these two countries are not the only parties to the Kashmir dispute."
Dr Hasan said the most important party to the dispute was formed by Kashmiris whose rights had been jeopardized for the last 50 years. They had rendered countless sacrifices during their freedom struggle and "we will reject a decision on their future only by Pakistan and India".
He said the resolution of Kashmir dispute was provided in UN resolutions. Kashmiris did not trust Pakistan and India, whose policies had proved harmful for them. Both the countries must therefore take the Kashmiris into confidence and change their stated policies on the dispute.
Dr Hasan said there was no justification for keeping hundreds of Kashmiris in jails. Those living on both sides of the LoC should also be allowed to visit each other and develop trade relations so that they could develop a consensus on resolution of the dispute.
Peace could not be established without allowing Kashmiris to visit each other and giving them freedom of expression and association. Many thousand Kashmiris went missing during their struggle and this matter should also be investigated. Those who had to leave their homes and hearths should be allowed to return to their native places, he said.