Ceasefire move well-received by Pak. people: Ramdas

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, MARCH 3. ``War is terrible no matter what kind; peace and happiness come hand in hand; sparkling and golden like the desert sand...''

These lines scribbled by the tiny hands of Sana Akram Durrani, a class VI student of a Rawalpindi school in Pakistan, bears a clear message to the rulers on both sides of the border.

Sana handed over the poem to the Indian delegation of the India- Pakistan Soldiers Initiative for Peace (IPSIP), which was on a week-long visit to Pakistan recently for promotion of peace initiatives between the neighbours. ``The people of Pakistan want peace and tranquility in the region which is the key to overall development of both nations,'' said the former Indian Navy Chief, Admiral L. Ramdas, who led the 20-member IPSIP delegation.

The Indian delegation of the IPSIP, constituted by a group of retired armed forces personnel of India and Pakistan in 1999, was received with warmth and cordiality wherever they went. ``The visit was excellent...we met Pakistani leaders, our counterparts, academicians and mediapersons. All of them showed their commitment and involvement for closer Indo-Pak ties. With such a positive response there is no doubt that forward movement in peace initiatives will be witnessed at various quarters in both the countries,'' Admiral Ramdas said.

The highlight of the visit was the hour-long meeting with Pakistan's Chief Executive, Gen. Musharraf. The Admiral, however, regretted that in its press statement, the Chief Executive's secretariat had included certain ``basic inaccuracies and distorted the facts'' to mislead the media.

For instance, the military ruler had never used the word `Kashmir,' but the release quoted him as having said that ``failure to initiate talks reinforce the view that India was not sincere in solving the Kashmir issue.'' Such misleading statements would do no good in improving ties, Admiral Ramdas said.

At the meeting, Gen. Musharraf said, ``we do not need an earthquake or natural calamities to bring our countries closer'' and expressed his willingness for better ties in the region.

The ceasefire move of the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, had been well received by the Pakistanis in general. ``They regard Mr. Vajpayee as an able statesman who has the capability of resolving the Kashmir issue. Some Pakistanis even compared Mr. Vajpayee to Mahatma Gandhi,'' Admiral Ramdas said.

The delegation also met several leaders and attended seminars discussing Indo-Pak ties and measures needed to strengthen them. ``One such meeting was with the leaders of the Jamaat-i-Islami and Al Badr who tried explaining to us the concept of jehad and how these jehadis were fighting against the Indian Army's `oppression' of Kashmiris,'' said the former Vice- Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Moti Dhar, a member of the delegation.

But the need of the hour was removal of the word ``enemy'' from their dictionaries so that peace initiatives could move in the right direction was the general perception among Pakistanis, said the members, adding, ``they want open borders so that the people of Amritsar can enjoy the Basant festival of Lahore. They want more liberal visas so that they can meet their relatives living across the border. Pakistanis feel that strong economic and cultural cooperation was a must to see the two countries march ahead in the world arena.''

The members had fond memories of the visit. A restaurant owner at Lahore refused to charge for their meal after he came to know that they were ``Indian guests on peace mission''.

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