Pakistan peace mission comes India to diffuse tensions

In the backdrop of deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan following the Mumbai terror strikes, a delegation of social activists, journalists and intellectuals under the banner of “Peace Mission from Pakistan” arrived here on Wednesday to normalise tensions between the two nations.

Members of the South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) and the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) also joined hands with the 24-member peace mission that has come on a three-day visit to India.

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SAHR and SAFMA believe the peace process can be brought on the track through participation at all key fronts— societal interaction, the media and the political leadership.

The delegation also comprises Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Asma Jahangir, Human rights activists IA Rehman among intellectuals, human rights activists, parliamentarians, journalists, writers and peace activists.

Asma Jehangir, who is the coordinator of the peace mission, said the delegation from Pakistan has come to defuse tensions in South Asia, and will meet representatives of Indian civil society, politicians, lawyers and journalists to seek diplomatic solutions to all issues.

Speaking to the delegation and members of SAHR and SAFMA at Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik said that Islamabad is committed to investigating the Mumbai terror strikes and wants to bring the peace process back on track.

He assured the group that Pakistan would continue the investigation on the Mumbai strike and would bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice, adding that both countries wanted to defuse tensions and normalise relations.

Malik hoped their engagements with Indian intellectuals, elite, reporters, educationists, and leaders of other segments of Indian society would fill the increasing trench and bring both countries close to each other.

“The message that I carry from Pakistan is that the government is sincere, committed in carrying forward the investigations at one end leading to evidence, to persecution and trying to get to the bottom of it, no matter where it leads to. This is a commitment made at the highest political level in Pakistan,” Malik said.

This is the first peace mission from Pakistan visiting India after the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks.