By Abdul Bari Masoud
Bhubaneswar: At a time when the relations between India and Pakistan have been nosedived, the Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD), a public initiative, will be organizing its national convention on 10-11 February 2018 at Bhubaneswar, Odisha after a gap of almost five years. The theme of the convention will be “Weaving Peace amidst War”. The Odisha chapter of PIPFPD is hosting the convention.
The present scenario between both the neighbors is getting worse with each passing day while the dialogue process has been stalled since the BJP-led government came to power in India. In this backdrop, the national convention assumes much importance as it is a platform for people across the border which can play a pro-active role in forcing both the government to resume dialogue process.
The last national convention was held in New Delhi in October 2013. But, in the changed scenario, where there is a complete pause on the dialogue, people-to-people contact has become a major casualty in the most difficult visa regime and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has become so volatile, in such circumstances, this public initiative can play a significant role in shaping the public opinion.
The last year has seen a significant increase in ceasefire violations on the LoC leading to many casualties and deaths which has severely affected the livelihood of people living in these areas. The past few years have been a time of absence of dialogue between the two countries and also the Indian government with the people of Kashmir.
Anuradha Bhasin, co-chairperson of PIPFPD, said the forum primarily, believes that India-Pakistan must resolve their disputes through friendship, co-operation, and democratization of the region.
In view of the prevailing situation in the sub-continent, it is important for this organisation (whose membership is open for all) to have a major presence in Jammu and Kashmir and play a stronger role, Bhasin said whose father late Ved Bhasin was the co-founder of the Forum.
Visa has become extremely difficult to get and it has affected people-to-people contact badly and there is no dialogue, so keeping this in mind, a detailed agenda has been finalized, she said.
Prof Asha Hans, who is also the co-chairperson, said the theme of the convention will be growing tension between India-Pakistan and Challenges before us. It is important at this time that the people of the two countries compel both the governments to resume dialogue and make a liberal visa regime, she added.
The Kashmir issue will come up for a detail discussion and a host delegates also from Kashmir are coming to the convention, Prof Hans said.
PIPFPD has been a pioneering people’s platform that has consistently impacted the political and people-to-people relations between India and Pakistan since the early 1990s. The initiative towards the formation of PIPFPD as a membership-based organization was taken in late 1993 and the first joint declaration was announced on September 4, 1994, at Lahore. The objective of this initiative was to facilitate common people in both the countries to listen to voices that are different from the belligerent voices of the respective Governments.
The forum has collectively agreed to work on the five major issues:
War, de-militarisation, peace and peace dividends;
Democratic solution to Kashmir problem;
Democratic Governance;
Religious intolerance in India and Pakistan; and
Globalisation and Regional Cooperation.
It is with the objective democratic rights activists, business people, trade unionists, environmentalists, women’s movements, artists, writers, social workers, professionals, academicians, students, scientists and mass movements have joined hands in a concerted attempt to persuade their respective governments to enter into meaningful negotiations and adopt policies that will reduce tensions and pave way for lasting peace and friendship.