KARACHI, March 30: A seminar here on Sunday expressed concern at the deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan and its consequent threat to peace in the region, and called upon the governments of the two countries to resume dialogue immediately and resolve their differences through peaceful means.
A resolution to this effect was unanimously adopted at the seminar on “Indo-Pakistan impasse: a way forward,” which was organized by the Pakistan- India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy. Many peace activists from India and Pakistan took part in the seminar which was presided over by Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim.
The participants noted that not only were formal relations between the two governments at the lowest-ever level, unprecedented obstacles had been created to prevent the civil societies in the subcontinent from interacting for mutual good.
They were also concerned that confrontation was being exploited to deprive the people of their rights to democratic governance and civil liberties, to aggravate the plight of the disadvantaged in the name of belief and majoritarian culture, and to justify poverty and hunger for sham patriotism and security.
They, therefore, called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to:
1) Resume forthwith negotiations to resolve all differences and disagreements peacefully and democratically;
2) discontinue the arms race;
3) re-establish diplomatic missions at normal strength;
4) re-open road, rail and air travel routes between the two countries;
5) withdraw the recently-imposed curbs on grant of visas and;
6) reject the possibility of the so-called US campaign against terrorism offering opportunity for settling scores by force.
Participants were of the view that the ruling class in both the countries was afraid of peace and believed in status quo to sustain itself.
The ruling elite on both sides of the divide felt that they would lose something if there was peace, said Dr Mubashir Hassan, adding that “tension is deliberate which serves the interests of arms merchants.”
In the case of Pakistan, he said the nexus between military, the civil service, politicians and big capitalists was responsible for this situation. Whereas in India the nexus was between politicians, civil service and big capitalists.
Referring to the India contention that the alleged cross-border terrorism was an impediment to the resumption of any dialogue between India and Pakistan, Dr Hassan said why should all windows of opportunity and hope be closed. Why not give peace a chance.
A peace activist from India, Tapan Bose, was of the view that there was no guarantee that war in Iraq might not spread to Syria and other regions.
He was of the view that ideological strain was very dangerous for South Asia. He stressed the need for responding to this perception that “the Islamic world is regressive and is a threat to free-market economy and democracy.”
He also expressed concern at the BJP/RSS politics in India which had exacerbated religious hatred, be that in Kashmir or Gujarat. He termed the trend very dangerous.
In the context of the possibility of Iraq crisis expanding to other regions, he said considering the obtaining situation, if the US created trouble here, it would not be confined to Pakistan but would endanger the whole of South Asia.
Justice Fakharuddin G. Ebrahim stressed the need for people-to-people contact and said those who were in power, and those who were aspiring for power, were deliberately trying to obstruct the process.
He said Pakistan wanted friendship with India and advocated the need for discussing the Kashmir issue on people-to-people level to narrow down differences.
I. A. Rahman, Neera Adarkar, Prof Pushpa, M. B. Naqvi, Zahida Hina and others who spoke called for increasing the contact and eliminating communal hatred.
They were of the view that the situation was going to be difficult because of the Indian elections and rising unemployment, which had been exploited by the political circles who had harped on the theme of perceived threat from Pakistan.
Some of the speakers maintained that if Pakistan and India failed to normalize their relations, the possibility of an American general becoming a military administrator could not be rule out.
Kunwar Khalid Yunus of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement stressed the need for dialogue with India and did not rule out the possibility of US troops focusing on South Asia after Iraq.