The two-day 31st Indo-Pak Friendship Convention in Amritsar concluded on Friday with a strong appeal to India and Pakistan to resume dialogue, ease tensions and restore people-to-people contact. Participants laid particular emphasis on restoring the Indus Waters Treaty through bilateral negotiations.
The convention was organised by the Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, Folklore Research Academy, Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy and SAFMA, with support from Virsa Vihar, Amritsar, and Sarbat Da Bhala Trust.
A seminar on India-Pakistan relations, challenges and possibilities was held at Virsa Vihar’s Kartar Singh Duggal Auditorium, bringing together writers, intellectuals, journalists, economists and peace activists.
Ramesh Yadav, president of the Folklore Research Academy, welcomed the participants and highlighted the academy’s three-decade-long efforts to promote peace, cultural exchange and people-to-people relations.
Hind-Pak Dosti Manch general secretary Satnam Singh Manak said the initiative had originally been started by eminent journalist Kuldip Nayar and had consistently advocated dialogue, cross-border trade and people-to-people contact.
Economist Sucha Singh Gill said the closure of the border had adversely affected employment and increased economic uncertainty, while Jatin Desai said trade through the Wagah border could potentially expand towards Central Asia.
The convention also demanded reopening of the Attari-Wagah border for trade and movement of people, resumption of visa facilities between India and Pakistan, and reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for Sikh pilgrims.
{{/usCountry}}The convention also demanded reopening of the Attari-Wagah border for trade and movement of people, resumption of visa facilities between India and Pakistan, and reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor for Sikh pilgrims.
{{/usCountry}}It further sought an easier visa regime for families displaced during the 1947 Partition to visit their ancestral villages and cities, protection of minorities in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and establishment of Peace Parks at Attari-Wagah and the India-Bangladesh border in memory of Partition victims.
Speakers including Sunilam, Pragya Pandey, Kewal Dhaliwal, Sandeep Pandey and Kuldeep Singh called for greater people-to-people contact and a sustained public movement against war. The Folklore Research Academy’s annual magazine ‘Panj Pani’ was also released on the occasion.