M A I N   N E W S

Indian delegation enters Pak with
message of peace
Ashok Sethi

Wagah, August 9
A 51-member delegation, including MPs of all political parties and eminent mediapersons, today crossed over to Pakistan with a message of peace.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, in his inimitable style, told mediapersons that the people of the region should give up hatred and work towards peace, prosperity and providing basic amenities to the poor. He has been invited by the Indian media to participate in the two-day south Asia Free Media Association convention being held on August 10 and 11 in Islamabad. Mr Laloo said India and Pakistan must resolve their differences through dialogue and it was time to break down barriers, which had divided the two neighbours after partition.

Former Union Minister for Telecommunication Ram Vilas Paswan said Pakistan must shun the path of confrontation and put a complete stop to cross-border terrorism to create a congenial atmosphere for talks. Both the countries had suffered enough due to diversion of precious resources towards military build-up depriving the nations of vital development projects. He said talks would help develop people-to-people contact, setting the stage for a purposeful dialogue.

Former Union Minister for External Affairs Salim Sherwani said economics would play a vital role to ease tension among neighbours. India and Pakistan should work together and form a common market for goods and services. He said economic agenda should be the basis of bringing both the nations closer to each other. He said India could offer technical know-how and other facilities to upgrade industry in Pakistan. Kashmir was an important issue but the other issues like trade, travel and other confidence-building measures should be taken on priority basis, he added.

Rajya Sabha MP and eminent journalist Rajiv Shukla said the exchange visits of Indian and Pakistani Parliamentarians would help in setting in motion a structured dialogue between the two governments to resolve their differences.

TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesi said there were no easy solutions to the 50-year-old mistrust between the two countries.