Resolutions and Statements by Pakistan Peace Coalition

Text of resolution adopted at the Press Club, Karachi, on 31 December, 1999


At the millennium's end, it is completely clear that five decades of
confrontation between Pakistan and India have led to nothing but misery,
deprivation, and war. Apart from draining resources away from the needs of
our peoples, the nuclear tests of May 1998 have put the subcontinent under
the shadow of nuclear catastrophe. Kargil was a disaster for Pakistan and
has worsened our relations with India, as well as further decreasing
Pakistan's credibility and support internationally. India has lost much,
but Pakistan has lost still more. There is no solution to the Kashmir
problem in sight, and economic collapse has been a constant possibility
since the nuclear tests. In view of the seriousness of the situation, the
Pakistan Peace Coalition calls upon the people and leadership of Pakistan to:

· Recognize that Pakistan is now at the mercy of international lending
organisations. This is nobody's fault but or own. We have consistently
diverted resources away from the real needs of our people towards heavy
consumption by the country's elite, and towards military spending. If
Pakistan is to prosper, it will have to cut down military expenditure
sharply. We welcome the recent reduction by 5% of the defense budget, but
this is insufficient.

· Recognise that nuclear war is not just an abstract possibility but
something very real. Pakistan and India must enter into negotiations on
nuclear issues, initially with the aim of creating confidence-building
measures to decrease the chances of the accidental use, but with complete
denuclearisation as the ultimate goal. Pakistan should sign the CTBT
immediately.

· Recognize that our position on Kashmir has not brought us any closer to
winning the rights of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan and India must be
willing to move away from their maximalist positions towards some
compromise that respects the wishes of the Kashmiri people as well.

We call upon all people of goodwill in the country to join and strengthen
the Pakistan Peace Coalition. We have reason to believe that a large number
of Indian citizens are also working for the same goal on the other side of
the border. For Pakistan and India, prosperity and progress depends upon
moving away from useless confrontation and towards peace.

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