Tarigami Welcomes Thaw in Indo-Pak Relations, Expresses Need for ‘More Initiatives’

Srinagar, Mar 25: While welcoming the latest thaw in Indo-Pak relations, CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Thursday said that ‘more initiatives’ are needed to normalise relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours to ensure lasting peace in the region.

In a statement issued to Global News Service (GNS), the senior leader said that there are already signs of a thaw in India-Pakistan relations as the two governments have agreed to cooperate on healthcare under the aegis of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and of reviving negotiations on religious pilgrimages after signing ceasefire agreement in February.

These moves, according to Tarigami, may together set the stage for bolder measures towards a lasting peace.

However, as the past experiences show, even sustained initiatives by Indian and Pakistani leaders have foundered on relatively lower levels of hostility, because openly-expressed distrust kept the field open for spoilers to step in. What is needed now is the peace process should not be allowed to go on the back burner because of isolated incidents of violence, he said.

Ideally, India and Pakistan should move to pick up peace negotiations from where they left off in 2007. The draft framework was a win-win which took into consideration the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir along with the requirements of India and Pakistan, the leader remarked.

In current adverse times, the significance of dialogue becomes more important and it is extremely important that not only the dialogue process should be furthered, but all channels of communication at diplomatic levels must be opened. It is high time that India and Pakistan realize the importance of peaceful co-existence, the leader emphasized.

People of Jammu and Kashmir are the worst hit by Indo-Pak hostility and turmoil in the region. Peace with dignity is in the interest of people of Jammu and Kashmir who always want better Indo-Pak relations. People of J&K want dignified life for which an environment of purposeful dialogue is needed and all the stakeholders must be taken on board, the leader said

The recent ceasefire has given a sigh of relief to thousands of border residents living on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, who were at the receiving end of Indo-Pak animosity in the recent years, the leader said further. (GNS)