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Pak MP for resolving disputes by Lahore Declaration
New Delhi, July 18: Pakistan`s hardline opposition leader and chief of Jamiat-Ulema-Islam Party Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman today said the Lahore Declaration could be the guiding principle to resolve Indo-Pak disputes if the Simla Accord was not favoured.
New Delhi, July 18: Pakistan's hardline opposition leader and chief of Jamiat-Ulema-Islam Party Maulana Fazal-ur Rahman today said the Lahore Declaration could be the guiding principle to resolve Indo-Pak disputes if the Simla Accord was not favoured.
"If not content with the Simla Agreement, we have Lahore which again advocates the same," Rahman said urging religious leaders to come forward and force the governments of the two countries to hold talks.
At a reception hosted by Jamiat-Ulema-Hind here, Rahman, who has been one of the loudest critics of US attack on Afghanistan and Iraq, said, "Today the world is facing a major crisis as no one is taking an initiative to fill the gap created by the disintegration of USSR."
"I am of the strong belief that India and Pakistan together can play a pivotal role in providing balance to the world," he said amidst applause from the audience, which included Pakistan's new high commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan and former Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
Stressing the need to build a strong relation between India and Pakistan, Rahman said, "Partition is a history. We have disputes that is also a fact but why do we tend to ignore that both the countries signed Simla Agreement to solve all disputes bilaterally."
The hardline Muslim cleric sought to explode the myth that his party or other religious parties in Pakistan were sharing anti-India sentiments or were opposed to the process of democracy.
"We are neither opposed to democracy nor to its values. All these years whatsoever we have being doing is with the mandate of the people of the country," the Jamiat leader said. Referring to Kashmir issue, he said both the countries had stated position on which talks were the best possible means to sort out differences.
"Let us hear each other and let us take into account the wishes of people of Kashmir as well. This will definitely lead us to some understanding," Rahman, who is leading a four-member delegation of JUI, said.
He said, "All of us will have to work overtime to ensure that Kashmiris shun their gun while talks for its permanent resolution were held."
Rahman said the two governments have to understand that people of the two countries shared cultural, historical and traditional values. "We cannot continue to ignore each other," he said adding, "Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's peace initiative and its subsequent positive response by Pakistani regime was heartening. Let us give this a boost at the people-to-people level."
Among others present at the reception were Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, former Union minister Ram Jethmalani, Swami Agnivesh, Communist Party leader Chaturand Mishra and Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande. Bureau Report
At a reception hosted by Jamiat-Ulema-Hind here, Rahman, who has been one of the loudest critics of US attack on Afghanistan and Iraq, said, "Today the world is facing a major crisis as no one is taking an initiative to fill the gap created by the disintegration of USSR."
"I am of the strong belief that India and Pakistan together can play a pivotal role in providing balance to the world," he said amidst applause from the audience, which included Pakistan's new high commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan and former Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
Stressing the need to build a strong relation between India and Pakistan, Rahman said, "Partition is a history. We have disputes that is also a fact but why do we tend to ignore that both the countries signed Simla Agreement to solve all disputes bilaterally."
The hardline Muslim cleric sought to explode the myth that his party or other religious parties in Pakistan were sharing anti-India sentiments or were opposed to the process of democracy.
"We are neither opposed to democracy nor to its values. All these years whatsoever we have being doing is with the mandate of the people of the country," the Jamiat leader said. Referring to Kashmir issue, he said both the countries had stated position on which talks were the best possible means to sort out differences.
"Let us hear each other and let us take into account the wishes of people of Kashmir as well. This will definitely lead us to some understanding," Rahman, who is leading a four-member delegation of JUI, said.
He said, "All of us will have to work overtime to ensure that Kashmiris shun their gun while talks for its permanent resolution were held."
Rahman said the two governments have to understand that people of the two countries shared cultural, historical and traditional values. "We cannot continue to ignore each other," he said adding, "Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's peace initiative and its subsequent positive response by Pakistani regime was heartening. Let us give this a boost at the people-to-people level."
Among others present at the reception were Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, former Union minister Ram Jethmalani, Swami Agnivesh, Communist Party leader Chaturand Mishra and Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande. Bureau Report