LAHORE, July 17: Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy president and Pakistan People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto group) secretary-general Dr Mubashar Hasan has proposed holding of a Musharraf-Manmohan meeting for a breakthrough in the peace process.

Speaking at a seminar on `peace in South Asia’ organized by the United Centre for Peace and the Pakistan-India People’s Forum for Peace and the Democracy at the Lahore Press Club on Monday, he said the meeting should be held after proper preparation so that it could be productive. He said Pakistan and India could become an economic force by joining hands.

He said postponement of talks by India could not be described as hostility without any supporting evidence. He said the two governments had initiated the peace process under public pressure and were not strong enough to stop it. It was also the duty of the civil society to remove hurdles in the peace process.

He said Mumbai blasts were not a simple affair. Arranging blasts at seven places and gathering explosives and planting the same at the designated places required skill and organisation, he said.

He said the US was a major threat to world peace and a root cause of terrorism because of its policy of trying to solve problems by force. The governments supporting the US were its target. Countries like Palestine, Iran, Syria and Bolivia where the governments did not support the US were safe from it. Pakistan would also have to distance itself from the US for protecting itself from terrorism, he said.

He said removal of causes of terrorism was also necessary for controlling the menace. The rulers should also know that terrorists could not survive without the support of the people.

They could survive only in the societies where the relations between the state and the people were not good. The government would have to negotiate with the terrorists, and the conditions, which compelled the people to agree to suicide attacks, would also have to be changed.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan chairperson Asma Jehangir said a sustainable peace was not possible in Pakistan without giving democratic rights to the people. There was no enmity between the people of Pakistan and India, but the vested interests were raising hurdles in the process.

She said a voice should be raised against the Mumbai blasts. Killing innocent people could not be described as a movement. It was nothing but goondaism and should be condemned. “India should also be asked on what grounds it is pointing its finger towards Pakistan,” she said.

She said Pakistan had repeatedly been described as a source of terrorism. Those involved were not giving it up despite continuous criticism. It was now high time for the people to ask those in uniform to depart and take terrorism along with them.

HRCP director IA Rahman said those behind Mumbai blasts were cowards and deserved no mercy. He said bureaucracy, arms merchants and vested interests of India and Pakistan were trying to sabotage the peace process.

He said the people should not remain silent over attempts to sabotage the peace process. They should tell their governments that they wanted only peace because the wars could not solve problems.

Husain Naqi said peace was the only option left for Pakistan and India after incurring losses owing to hot and cold wars. He said extremists were present in both the countries. The extremists in Pakistan required to be dealt with the support of the people as they were out of state control.

South Asia Partnership director Mohammad Tahseen said there was no justification for postponement of talks because peace was the only viable solution to their problems. —Reporter