Peace Between India and Pakistan
The All Pakistan Hurriyat Conference and the Indian Government, in a historic meeting, agreed to end all forms of violence that has plagued Kashmir over five decades. The two sides, during talks that extended over two hours, also agreed to keep the dialogue going in the future as well. They agreed to meet in March to take the peace process further. Pakistan’s delegation was led by the Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani reputed to be an inflexible man coming from the hard-line school of management. The fact that Mr. Advani expressed hope of a lasting peace has added a lot of value to the meeting.
It was also agreed that the meeting was the first significant step in the dialogue process initiated by the Government of India and and a step-by-step approach would eventually result in the resolution of all outstanding issues relating to Jammu and Kashmir. Mr. Advani strongly endorsed the Hurriyat Conference’s view that the role of the gun should be replaced by the “sound of politics”.В
This meeting comes on the heels of the recent meeting between the Prime Minister of India and the President of Pakistan where the international community welcomed a restoration of dialogue and normalization of relations. Pakistan and India have fought two wars over Kashmir and countless lives have been lost in smaller skirmishes along the borders.
Kashmir, in undivided India, was the first choice tourist destination of the sub-continent boasting of breathtaking valleys, mountains and lakes. Allowing visitors to return to the region would be an immense incremental benefit of the peace process.
By Azam Jamil
eturbonews.com
Travelvideo.tv – your news source for the travel and tourism industry.
January 26, 2004
Posted in: India