Pakistan urged to take steps for reducing tension with India assert Indo-Pak peace groups

JALANDHAR: Four organisations working for peace and friendship between the people of India and Pakistan for the last few decades have said that a large section of the population in both countries has a deep fear and apprehension that both countries are heading towards a disastrous war.
"In this situation, the need of the hour is to find some peaceful solution. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should initiate direct dialogue with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and condemn the attack on tourists at Pahalgam by the terrorists. He should assure him that in future Pakistan will not allow its land to be used for terrorist activities and shall give full cooperation to India to punish the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack. The serious initiative from Pakistan at the moment can help to halt the further deterioration in relations between the two countries," said Hind-Pak Dosti Manch General Secretary Satnam Singh Manak, Folklore Research Academy president Ramesh Yadav, Pragatisheel Lekhak Sangh President Surjit Judge, and Punjab Jagriti Manch General Secretary Deepak Bali, in a joint statement issued on Friday.
They also said that an agreement of 1950 signed between Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani PM Liaqat Ali Khan to protect the interests of minorities in both countries needed not only to be implemented seriously but another new agreement on these lines should also be signed between both countries. This would ensure that their land would not be used for terrorist activities and all bilateral matters be resolved through mutual dialogue. "This is the need of the hour. This shall help in increasing the confidence between the two countries," they argued.
They demanded that the harsh decision of terminating visas for the citizens of both countries should have spared the married couples and the people who came for medical treatment on humanitarian grounds. "The punishment for the inhuman doings of terrorists should not be given to the common people, and the govts need to realise that common people need to be treated differently from the terrorists. The politicians and media in both countries should also refrain from spreading hatred and provocation at the moment," they said.