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Staff Report

NEW DELHI: Speakers at a conference in Srinagar on Saturday demanded an internal ceasefire, withdrawal of troops and the inclusion of people of Jammu and Kashmir in the India-Pakistan dialogue.

The meet, which is called Pugwash conference, was attended by former diplomats, ambassadors and political leaders. Welcoming the peace process between Pakistan and India, the speakers felt that Kashmiri people had not been consulted by both governments. They warned that if people were not included in the peace process, "it will turn out to be a damp squib".

They also called for operationalising the Kashmir-related confidence-building measures (CBMs). The Pugwash conference participants said that the re-opening of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad Road was not enough and other routes should also be re-opened.

The participants included C Raja Mohan, political and strategic affairs analyst, G Parthasarthy, former ambassador, MK Rasgotra, former foreign secretary, Kapil Kak, former air vice marshal, Ved Bhasin, Kashmir Times group of publications chairman, Nirmal Singh, Bharatiya Janata Paty president in Kashmir, Prof Saifuddin Soz, member of parliament, Jitender Bakshi, president of the action committee for the return of Hindu migrants, Prof Bhim Singh, Panthers Party president, and Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami, Communist Party of India-Marxist secretary in Kashmir.

Politicians who attended the conference were Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, Sajjad Lone, Ghulam Rasool Dar and Muhammad Abdullah Tari.

Daily Times - Site Edition Sunday, April 24, 2005