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Press Release December 29, 2001

India and Pakistan are once again on the brink of a grave war. The attack on India's Parliament on December 13th 2001 has been roundly condemned, as indeed it should be, on both sides of the border. But one fallout of the December 13th attack has been to make the already strained relationship between India and Pakistan even more difficult. Whereas India has legitimate security concerns that need both to be appreciated and addressed, a war with Pakistan limited or otherwise, is certainly not the best way of addressing them.

But the signs are that the two countries are heading down the path of a direct war. India has recalled her High Commissioner to Pakistan and broken off rail and road links with Pakistan. India has also asked Pakistani flights to keep-off Indian airspace and Pakistan government to nobody’s astonishment has retaliated in the same way. Equally alarming, skirmishes between the two armies have already left dozens of people killed on both sides. As the rhetoric gets shriller and the temperature rise, willy-nilly the two countries might reach a point of no return. Losing the precious lives of its citizens –both civil and military- is something both countries can ill afford at this juncture. The governments of our two neighborly countries owe it to their peoples to use their resources on alleviating poverty rather than wasting them on wars or for preparation of wars.

There are strong hawkish groups in Pakistan and India who would love to light the flames of war. We appreciate that President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee are showing restraint. All saner elements and peace loving people of our two countries must raise their voice against any kind of war between India and Pakistan. Both Pakistan and India have enough internal problems. Now that both have attained nuclear capacity, it is their responsibility to exercise greater tolerance. It is time to start negotiating for some honorable and acceptable solution to our problems including Kashmir. It is time for decisions. It is time for statesmanship. The international political climate favours peace.

The Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) therefore would strongly urge both governments to pull back from the brink and use diplomatic and other means to address long-standing issues of mutual concern. Towards that end, keeping existing channels of communication open and exploring news ones are of vital importance. The PIPFPD, on behalf of the people of both countries it represents, strongly requests both the governments to stop any further step towards ascending the war hysteria.