LAHORE, Jan 21: A delegation of Pakistani peace activists walked over to Attari from Wagah on Wednesday to explore the possibilities of reciprocation by the civil society of India.

The 22-member delegation will remain in New Delhi till Jan 24 to interact with the civil society, media and political leadership of India at the joint initiative of South Asians for Human Rights (Sahr) and South Asian Free Media Association (Safma).

“Nobody in Pakistan and India want war as it will eventually cause devastation on both sides. Even a state of suspended hostility between India and Pakistan will blight the whole region’s future,” Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chairperson Asma Jehangir told reporters before crossing over the Wagah border.

The need of the hour is to keep the peace process going, jointly fight the scourge of terrorism at all levels and in every manner and avoid war in the best interest of the peoples of India and Pakistan, she said.

Senior journalist I.A Rahman was sorry about the role of media on both sides of the border. “The media of India and Pakistan favoured war sentiments and did not support peace elements. We should struggle for peace and not war. Both countries cannot afford war at the moment because of host of problems and issues. They are victims of terrorism problem and should join hands to fight it.”

Other members of the delegation were columnist Munir Ahmed (Munoo Bhai), political and defence analyst Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi, Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel of the Awami National Party and his wife Farzana Adeel, PML-N working committee member and former MPA Ali Haroon Shah, human rights activist and artist Salima Hashmi, a former senator and federal law minister who is co-chairperson of the HRCP Iqbal Haider, publisher and editor of an English weekly Syeda Maimanat Mohsin (Jugnu Mohsin), executive director Muhammad Tehseen of South Asia Partnership, peace activist Brig (retired) Rao Abid, educationist and research fellow of SDPI Dr Abdul Hameed Nayyar, Samina Bano Rahman of Women’s Action Forum, Kamran Arif of the HRCP who is a specialist on FATA and Northern Areas, NWFP vice-chairperson Ms Mussarrat Hilali, PPP working committee member and former MNA Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed, journalists Nusrat Javeed and Mustansar Javed.

Safma secretary-general Imtiaz Alam later distributed a statement among reporters that said: “The peace mission condemns, unequivocally and unreservedly the Nov 26 terrorist attack in Mumbai as a most heinous crime against innocent people. We share the grief of victims’ families and the people of India whose friendship we cherish. Unfortunately, this outrage has brought India and Pakistan to a dangerous crossroads and we hope we will not be diverted from the path of peace. “The two countries must not allow the terrorists to hijack the peace agenda. They must resume the composite dialogue process and the sooner the better.

India’s rage after Mumbai was justified and the world had sympathy for it.

Unfortunately the media on both sides did not pay due heed to the long-term interests of the subcontinent’s teeming millions.

“After passing through a denial mould, Pakistan has acknowledged that the surviving Mumbai raider came from Pakistan which it should have accepted much earlier. Subsequently, the interior ministry has ordered an investigation and vowed to bring the culprits to justice.

We hope the investigation will be thorough and fair and the Pakistan establishment will take all possible measures not to let anyone use its soil for murderous games.

Meanwhile, India must eschew anger and get Pakistan to engage in negotiations on the basis of verified facts of the Mumbai attack. Whoever planned the Mumbai carnage wanted to foment conflict between India and Pakistan and prevent the latter from securing peace in its north-western regions. They did succeed partially, but they must not be allowed any further success.

We appreciate the role of the international community in helping to defuse the situation and yet the South Asian context remains relevant. It is important that both India and Pakistan accept a South Asian cooperative methodology of resolving inter-state disputes. The wisdom may not appear realistic at the moment but it is unassailable.

Mumbai should not threaten Indo-Pak relations, nor should it endanger South Asia. Terrorism is spreading like a disease. It has engulfed Afghanistan, a SAARC member, and has spread to most of Pakistan too. Some traces of it are already visible in India where a majority of the South Asian population lives. Instead of accusing each other of terrorism, the SAARC states must get together and discuss it as a common problem.

It is only in this context that SAARC states could ask one another for the surrender of terrorists guilty of cross-border outrages. There are two possible reactions to trouble as it looms on the horizon. One is to build high walls and block communication so that calamity stays on the other side of the border. This has not worked and may work even less in the days to come. The only casualties are the peace process and the truth. The other way is to open up the region to trade routes and transport networks allowing free movement of people, goods and information. The SAARC protocols on terrorism need to be made more effective.

The Mumbai attack was paradigmatic, which means patterns of behaviour must change fundamentally now for the sake of survival of SAARC states. This change cannot come through war. It must come through cooperation at both bilateral and regional levels.

India and Pakistan must strengthen joint anti-terrorism mechanism. On the other hand, SAARC must evolve regional mechanisms and institutions to collectively fight terrorism, cross-border crimes, smuggling, narcotics trade and evolve a judicial forum to prosecute the terrorists and criminals wanted by one state or the other.

We must forge friendship and burry the hatchet for ever. We wish India well, so should you Pakistan. The people must unite against terrorism and war and persuade their governments to forge unity against the common enemy,” the statement concluded.