Track-II: Pakistani and Indian delegates meet to discuss peace
Joint declaration proposes to open consulates in Karachi and Mumbai.
Khurshid Kasuri highlighted the progress that has already made towards realising the objective of peace among the two neighbours. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
A high profile Pakistan-India meeting held in Islamabad last week-end, in a joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the parleys, has urged the governments of the two countries to tackle on urgent basis all contentious issues including Kashmir and terrorist incidences on the basis of “ progress made in and consensus arrived at, in previous parleys.”
The Pakistan-India Bilateral Dialogue “Rationalising a Peace Discourse in South-Asia: Prospects, Challenges & Opportunities” was organised by the Regional Peace Institute (RPI) and sponsored by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The moot brought together such luminaries as Salman Khurshid, the former external affairs minister of India, Mani Shankar Ayer, the former petroleum minister of India, Khurshid Kasuri, the former foreign minister of Pakistan, Gen. (retd) Ehsanul Haq, diplomats, professionals and media personalities.
The joint declaration further urged the Indian government that “in order to further strengthen the linkages in various fields, India should open a consulate in Karachi and Pakistan should do likewise in Mumbai.
“As promised by the Indian government in the late seventies, Jinnah House in Mumbai should be handed over to Pakistan to open its consular office there.” The joint declaration further stressed that “there are two fights that both Pakistan and India need to fight: the fight within and the fight without. The fight within relates to addressing the fear factor and the fight without is to engage with each other in an irreversible and uninterrupted dialogue that encompasses all areas of contention.”
In his opening remarks, Khurshid Kasuri highlighted the progress that has already made towards realising the objective of peace among the two neighbours: “A peaceful South-Asian region is a dream that we are all committed to. The principal objective of this conference, convened immediately after the swearing-in of the new Indian prime minister, is to reiterate our resolve for peace and also look at ways, means and mechanisms that would further contribute to sensitising people to its advisability and help build consensus around it.
Salman Khurshid and Mani Shankar Ayer welcomed the initiative taken by the RPI and stressed on the need for peace between the two neighbours. They said that they had brought with them a group representing divergent points of view from their country, but they all agreed on the desirability of peace between India and Pakistan.
Four sessions of the conference were held discussing some key themes that would contribute to the evolving of peace in the region including the peace dialogue, collaboration in the economic arena, expanding social linkages and the role of media.
RPI Executive Director Raoof Hasan set the tone of the conference by saying “there is no dearth of realisation on both sides that peace is desirable, in fact inevitable, but there are impediments in its way. Some of these are genuine which emanate from a protracted history of enmity, but most are artificial which primarily reflect a fear syndrome as well as a high level of trust deficit.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2014.
A high profile Pakistan-India meeting held in Islamabad last week-end, in a joint declaration issued at the conclusion of the parleys, has urged the governments of the two countries to tackle on urgent basis all contentious issues including Kashmir and terrorist incidences on the basis of “ progress made in and consensus arrived at, in previous parleys.”
The Pakistan-India Bilateral Dialogue “Rationalising a Peace Discourse in South-Asia: Prospects, Challenges & Opportunities” was organised by the Regional Peace Institute (RPI) and sponsored by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The moot brought together such luminaries as Salman Khurshid, the former external affairs minister of India, Mani Shankar Ayer, the former petroleum minister of India, Khurshid Kasuri, the former foreign minister of Pakistan, Gen. (retd) Ehsanul Haq, diplomats, professionals and media personalities.
The joint declaration further urged the Indian government that “in order to further strengthen the linkages in various fields, India should open a consulate in Karachi and Pakistan should do likewise in Mumbai.
“As promised by the Indian government in the late seventies, Jinnah House in Mumbai should be handed over to Pakistan to open its consular office there.” The joint declaration further stressed that “there are two fights that both Pakistan and India need to fight: the fight within and the fight without. The fight within relates to addressing the fear factor and the fight without is to engage with each other in an irreversible and uninterrupted dialogue that encompasses all areas of contention.”
In his opening remarks, Khurshid Kasuri highlighted the progress that has already made towards realising the objective of peace among the two neighbours: “A peaceful South-Asian region is a dream that we are all committed to. The principal objective of this conference, convened immediately after the swearing-in of the new Indian prime minister, is to reiterate our resolve for peace and also look at ways, means and mechanisms that would further contribute to sensitising people to its advisability and help build consensus around it.
Salman Khurshid and Mani Shankar Ayer welcomed the initiative taken by the RPI and stressed on the need for peace between the two neighbours. They said that they had brought with them a group representing divergent points of view from their country, but they all agreed on the desirability of peace between India and Pakistan.
Four sessions of the conference were held discussing some key themes that would contribute to the evolving of peace in the region including the peace dialogue, collaboration in the economic arena, expanding social linkages and the role of media.
RPI Executive Director Raoof Hasan set the tone of the conference by saying “there is no dearth of realisation on both sides that peace is desirable, in fact inevitable, but there are impediments in its way. Some of these are genuine which emanate from a protracted history of enmity, but most are artificial which primarily reflect a fear syndrome as well as a high level of trust deficit.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2014.