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| Indian peaceniks in Pak | | I had achieved breakthrough with Vajpayee, says Nawaz | |
Lahore, Feb 23: As an Indian delegation of peace-making activists reached Pakistan, the Opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Monday claimed that there was a major breakthrough to resolve the Kashmir issue with India during his premiership but the gains were "turned upside down" by the subsequent military regime of Pervez Musharraf.
Sharif made the claim during a meeting with an Indian peace delegation led by veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar and filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt at his residence at Raiwind in Lahore.
He did not give details of the breakthrough on the vexed Kashmir issue.
The former premier also described the signing of the Lahore Declaration during then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan in 1999 as a "great achievement". He said everything was later "turned upside down" by a dictator.
Sharif said extremist elements had gained strength during the era of former president Pervez Musharraf, who came to power by deposing a PML-N government in a military coup.
Sharif also said an independent judiciary could have helped decrease extremism.
The PML-N chief's brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, was also present during the meeting with the Indian delegation, which arrived in Pakistan yesterday.
Speaking to reporters after meeting the Sharif brothers, Nayar said, "We told Mr Sharif that there is still a lot of anger in India and it would be good if those responsible (for the Mumbai attacks) are caught and brought to trial as soon as possible."
Nayar said the delegation also told Sharif of the need to create a peaceful environment conducive to talks between India and Pakistan.
"Mr Sharif said the situation prevailing in Pakistan today is due to successive martial law regimes. The democracy of the kind wanted by the people is not there," he said.
Nayar said Sharif also raised the Kashmir issue and wanted it to be resolved to the satisfaction of India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris.
The Indian delegation, which comprises rights and peace activists and journalists, also met Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who claimed that Kashmir remained the "core issue" between India and Pakistan.
The delegation includes eminent Indian personalities like former Indian diplomat and journalist Kuldip Nayar, renowned filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, social activist Swami Agnivesh, historian and academician Prof KN Panikar, former diplomat Salman Haider, human rights activist Prof Kamal Mitra Chenoy, journalist Seema Mustafa, Sandeep social activist Pandey, social scientist Kamla Bhasin, etc.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairperson Asma Jahangir, South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) Secretary-General Imtiaz Alam and many other representatives of the civil society at the border warmly welcomed the delegation on Sunday.
The News quoted Bhatt as saying that the main objective of the mission was to promote peace and build trust between the two countries.
He symbolised the Indo-Pak situation with a long dark night but hoped that there was a silver lining in every cloud.
The days of tension between the two countries were numbered, he said, adding that peace and friendship would prevail over the region. He said the Indian delegation had come to light candle of peace across the border to shed bad omens of the Mumbai attacks.
SAFMA Secretary-General Imtiaz Alam said his organisation had welcomed the Indian delegation, as it was really a great peace mission. Peace missions in India and Pakistan were aimed at promoting peace and harmony between the two countries after the Mumbai attacks, he said.
HRCP Chairperson Asma Jhangir said going to war was not an option for both the countries.
Talking about the role of peace activists and peace missions, she said the basic objective of any peace mission was to play a role as a peace-builder, as a peace mission always helped promote understanding between the two countries.
The delegation members said they had come to Pakistan at a difficult time, as the Mumbai attacks had shocked and angered India, which had severely affected relations between the two countries and there was an uncertainty what lay ahead.
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