Over a dozen peace-promoting organisations in Mumbai under the banner of the Gandhi-Edhi Campaign today said the prime ministers of India and Pakistan should resume bilateral talks and create a conducive atmosphere for the SAARC summit in Islamabad in November.
Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif had the greatest responsibility to ensure success of the summit, Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of Observer Research Foundation, said.
"If Indo-Pak relations remain frosty, and if bilateral talks do not resume, there is every danger of the SAARC summit ending in a fiasco. The entire South Asian region will be a big loser," he said.
Describing South Asia as the most populous but least socio-economically integrated region in the world, Kulkarni said the people of SAARC countries should put pressure on their respective governments to take concrete steps to promote regional cooperation.
"Pakistan must adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and religious extremism, without making any distinction between 'good' and 'bad' terrorists. There should be no more redrawing of national boundaries in South Asia."
Participants at a meeting organised by ORF and other groups which are part of the Gandhi-Edhi campaign here took a pledge to promote the noble traditions of Mahatma Gandhi and Abdul Sattar Edhi, the legendary Pakistani humanitarian who passed away last month, and other great personalities who symbolised service of humanity as the best form of worship of god.
Addressing the meeting via video link from Karachi, Faisal Edhi, who is continuing his late father's philanthropic work, said India and Pakistan should unitedly fight against poverty, unemployment, disease and socio-economic backwardness.
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