SWABI, Feb 13: The animosity between nuclear-armed neighbours, India and Pakistan, should be replaced by enduring friendship, a group of visiting Indian students has proposed.

"Indeed, it is not an easy task, but one that can be managed through strenuous efforts by the two countries' leadership," they said while talking to Dawn here on Sunday. The 14-member group was here to participate in a debate organized by the Literary and Debating Society of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering and Technology.

The speakers stressed that the Kashmir issue should not block interaction in other fields. "We have a border dispute with China but that did not prevent New Delhi and Beijing from cooperating in other spheres," they said.

"We want that spirit to likewise guide India-Pakistan relations. Once interaction between the two nations increases, and we come close to each other, an amicable solution to the Kashmir dispute would definitely be found," said one of the speakers.

The debate was billed to be the first one in any educational institution of Pakistan in which Indian students took part. They called for a step-by-step approach to resolving longstanding issues, declaring that it was not possible to tackle them all overnight.

They said the leadership of the two states should use their diplomatic sagacity and shrewdness to settle problems. With regard to the core issue of Kashmir, they backed peaceful means of resolving it.

In their animated speeches, they opposed war between Pakistan and India, saying wars brought nothing but destruction to the states involved, bringing more misery to their populations.

"In case of war, both the countries would invite their own destruction and the best option is to head off such an eventuality," said a girl. In a peaceful environment, they said, the two neighbours would benefit immensely from each other in trade and commerce, attaining progress and prosperity for their population.

"What harvest have we reaped from years of rivalry and tension?" queried one, who went on to point out that "our ancestors had fought collectively against British colonialists, and we share cultures, common history and a lot more".

The Indian students said they faced a little bit problem in acquiring Pakistani visa but added that the LDS members had made everything easy for them. They called for frequent visits of students to each other's country "because this would pave way for a peaceful environment and create love for each other".

They said there was a slight difference in the educational systems of India and Pakistan but the facilities provided in the GIK Institute were remarkable and the environment very peaceful.

The president of LDS, Muhammad Bilal Riaz, said: "The literary society is the first one to cross borders and invite an Indian team to participate in our debating contest."

The team comprised Aditya Sudarshan, Faiz Tajuddin, Ms Kamya Rajgopal, Rohit De, Sidharth Chauhan, Sundip Biswas, Ms Swati Lohia, Ms Tanya Agarwal, Ms Uttara Gharpure, Ms Parul Kumar, Saurabh Rustagi, Ashish Jhina, Varun Sud and Joseph Mathew.