The Hindu : Front Page : Pakistan team for joint fight against terror

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Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009
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Pakistan team for joint fight against terror

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Pakistan peace delegation members (from left) Karamat Ali, Zulfiqar Shah, Amina Zaman, Syed Iqbal Haider and social activist Swami Agnivesh interact with media in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: A visiting Pakistani peace delegation has called for a coordinated action by India and Pakistan to beat terrorism.

Talking to journalists here on Tuesday, Karachi-based trade union leader and peace activist Karamat Ali said the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on Tuesday and the Mumbai attack on November 26 last year showed that terrorism knew no borders and it required a coordinated action by the two countries to curb such activities.

“The Mumbai-like attack in Lahore is an indicator that there is no guarantee that such incidents will not recur. In fact, we apprehend an escalation in the coming years,” Mr. Ali said.

Terrorism was a common enemy that had dismayed people in Pakistan as it had Indians. It had reversed the bilateral negotiations between the two countries and set back the forward movement on various issues made under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework.

The 12-member delegation is visiting India as part of the joint signature campaign initiated by civil society organisations in India and Pakistan simultaneously. The campaign, launched after the Mumbai terror attack, was against terrorism and war posturing and for promoting cooperation and peace between the two countries. Hundreds of organisations working on a large number of issues in different parts of the sub-continent participated.

The issues highlighted are zero-tolerance to religious terrorism in the two countries, setting up of joint investigation agencies and carrying out probes by mutual assistance and totally ruling out war as a possibility as it was not in anyone’s interest. Further it demands from the SAARC member States ratification of a convention signed in 1987 to fight terrorism in the SAARC region.

The petitions, on which the signatures were obtained, will be presented to the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister of both the countries to pressure the respective government to bring about peace.

“The destinies of the two countries are inextricably linked and therefore the people should take up the issue themselves. Otherwise important problems like poverty, illiteracy and security will take a back seat,” Mr. Ali pointed out. Here, the media had an important role to play by showing restraint instead of creating war hype and indulging in jingoism, the delegation said.

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