Kolkata, Aug 17: The latest Indo-Pak peace initiatives and people-to-people contacts have raised hopes for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue than ever before, former Union law minister Ram Jethmalani, who was part of the Indian delegation which recently visited Pakistan, said today. "I believe the people's mood in Pakistan is pro-peace, even more than that in India," Jethmalani told reporters here.

The peace initiatives and greater people-to-people contacts have brought in perceptible change in the public mood, even in the political circle in Pakistan, the veteran lawyer and MP, said.

As a result of such efforts, he said, Kashmir problem seemed to be "nearer to a solution than ever before." Turning to the recent Supreme Court judgement against striking government employees in Tamil Nadu, he said, "there should not be any attempt by the court to take away the constitutional rights of government employees in a state as long as the strike remains peaceful".

Bureau Report