Attari (Amritsar): A candle light vigil was
held at the Indo-Pak border at Attari to mark the country`s 62nd
Independence Day, a move that generated an equivocal response
from people across the boundary.
Members from Indian chapter of South Asian Free Media
Association (SAFMA) and NGO Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, including
guests from Pakistan, gathered at the Attari check post on the
international border on the intervening night of 14-15 for the
candle light vigil.
This is for the second consecutive time after the
Independence that people from Pakistan reciprocated the move
on their side of the border.
A cultural programme was held near the Wagah border by
Hind-Pak Dosti Manch and Folklore Research Academy for the
Indians and the Pakistani guests and Punjabi Sufi singers Hans
Raj Hans and Lakhwinder Wadali performed on the occasion.
The Hind-Pak Dosti Manch was founded by journalist and
columnist Kuldip Nayyar and Satnam Manak in 1996.
Speaking on the occasion, Nayyar said people-to-people
contact exercise between the two nations could be enhanced
with hassle free visa system.
Nayyar said the vigil is a symbolic gesture of unity, "as
it gives a wakeup call to both governments to end enmity and
get on to the business like two good neighbours".
Bureau Report
