Statements from India Chapter of Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) May - June 1999
The following press statement was issued by some citizens of Calcutta at the initiative of some members of the Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), West Bengal Chapter and was released to the press on 28 May 1999.
" We are deeply schocked and pained at the serious conflict situation arising once again between India and Pakistan. This has definitely marred the atmosphere of friendship created by the Lahore Declaration (1999) and has shattered the great expectations roused by it. Any such conflict not only means loss of lives but it also increases the economic burden on the people of the two backward developing countries.
Hence we feel that :
1. Both Pakistan and India should coolly sit down to take stock of the current situation and find out some peaceful permanent solution to the conflict ;
2. There should be a continuous dialogue between the two governments so that never in future any farther misunderstanding leading to violent or armed activities arise ;
3. Since the Kashmir issue is the main bone of contention between the two countries a fresh and serious move should be taken to solve the problem. For that matter both the governments and peoples of these two countries should be involved in this challenging dialogue that would also include the peoples of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC);
4. Pending the solution of the Kashmir problem both the governments should immediately take up positive steps towards bilateral commerce, cultural exchanges, information inflows and people to people contact."
Signatories:
1. Shantimoy Roy
2. Pranab Ghosh
3. Dr. Bishnu Mukherjee
4. Amit Chaakraborty
5. Sagnik Chakravartty
6. Krishna Bandyopadhyay
7. Dr.D.P. Sen
8. Prof. Amalendu De
9. Md. Sulaiman Khurshid
10. P.R.Ghosh
11. Shyamal Nandi
12. Madhab Banerjee
13. Malay Mukherjee
14. Dr. Dilip Banerjee
Times of India Saturday 5 June, 1999 Letters to the Editor
Forum for Peace
The military flare-up in Kargil has worsened the continuing tensions in Jammu and Kashmir. The claim that the possession of nuclear weapons by India and Pakistan would create a situation of deterrence and hence of peace has been falsified and the hopes raised by the Lahore Declaration have been belied. In the nuclear environment in the region, this development has escalated the danger of war in the sub-continent.
The resort to aerial bombings so close to the Line of Control has escalated the military tensions between India and Pakistan. What is alarming is that this bombing and armed operations are taking a toll of innocent civilian lives. This flare-up coming so soon after the Lahore Declaration exposes the fragility of the two governments' commitment to peace. So long as the Kashmir question remains unresolved such flare-ups are likely to recur and threaten to escalate into full-fledged war including the danger of nuclear a holocaust.
There should be an immediate cessation of armed hostilities and bombings. Indian and Pakistan troops and militants and mercenaries should withdraw immediately. There should be a demilitarised zone along the LoC [Line of Control]. Steps must be taken urgently to start discussions on the pending issues with active participation of people from both sides of the LoC [Line of Control].
(E. Deenadayalan on behalf of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy, New Delhi)