[Reader-list] Joint India-Pakistan Statement on Mumbai

[Naeem Mohaiemen]

This Joint Statement was released to the press
simultaneously in Pakistan and India on November 30
2008.


Mumbai bloodbath


We are deeply shocked and horrified at the bloody
mayhem in Mumbai, which has claimed more than a
hundred and ninty lives and caused grievous injuries
to several hundred people, besides sending a wave of
panic and terror across South Asia and beyond. We
convey our profound feelings of sorrow and sympathies
to the grieving families of the unfortunate victims of
this heinous crime and express our solidarity with
them.



As usual, all sorts of speculations are circulating
about the identity of the perpetrators of this act of
barbarism. The truth about who are directly involved
in this brutal incident and who could be the culprits
behind the scene is yet to come out and we do not wish
to indulge in any guesswork or blame game at this
point. However, one is intrigued at its timing. Can it
be termed a coincidence that it has happened on the
day the Home Secretaries of the two countries
concluded their talks in Islamabad and announced
several concrete steps to move forward in the peace
process, such as the opening of several land routes
for trade – Kargil, Wagah-Attari, Khokhropar etc –,
relaxation in the visa regime,  a soft and liberal
policy on the issue of release of prisoners and joint
efforts to fight terrorism? Again, is it just a
coincidence that on this fateful day the Foreign
Minister of Pakistan was in the Indian capital holding
very useful and productive talks with his Indian
counterpart?  One thing looks crystal clear. The
enemies of peace and friendship between the two
countries, whatever be the label under which they
operate, are un-nerved by these healthy developments
and are hell bent on torpedoing them.



We are of the considered opinion that the continued
absence of peace in South Asia - peace between and
within states - particularly in relation to India and
Pakistan , is one of the root causes of most of the
miseries the people of the region are made to endure.
It is the major reason why our abundantly
resource-rich subcontinent is wallowing in poverty,
unemployment, disease, and ignorance and why
militarism, religious and sectarian violence and
political, economic and social injustice are eating
into the very vitals of our societies, even after more
than six decades of independence from colonial rule.



At this moment of unmitigated tragedy, the first thing
we call upon the Governments of India and Pakistan to
do is to acknowledge the fact that the overwhelming
majority of the people of India and Pakistan ardently
desire peace and, therefore, the peace process must be
pursued with redoubled speed and determination on both
sides. The sooner the ruling establishments of India
and Pakistan acknowledge this fact and push ahead with
concrete steps towards lasting peace and harmony in
the subcontinent, the better it will be not only for
the people of our two countries but also for the whole
of South Asia and the world. While the immediate
responsibility for unmasking the culprits of Mumbai
and taking them to task surely rests with the
Government of India, all of us in South Asia have an
obligation to join hands and go into the root causes
of why and how such forces of evil are motivated and
emboldened to resort to such acts of anti-people
terror.



It is extremely important to remind the leaderships of
Pakistan and India that   issuing statements and
signing agreements and declarations will have meaning
only when they are translated into action and
implemented honestly, in letter and spirit and without
any further loss of time. It assumes added urgency in
the prevailing conditions in South Asia , with the
possibility that so many different forces prone to
religious, sectarian and other forms of intolerance
and violence may be looking for ways to arm themselves
with more and more sophisticated weapons of mass
murder and destruction. The bloodbath in Mumbai must
open the eyes of our governments, if it has not
already happened.



We urge upon the governments of India and Pakistan to
immediately take the following steps:



  1. Cessation of all hostile propaganda against each
other;
  2. Joint action to curb religious extremism of all
shades in both countries;
  3. Continue and intensify normalization of
relations and peaceful resolution of all conflicts
between the two countries;
  4. Facilitation of trade and cooperation between
the two countries and in all of South Asia . We
welcome the fact that the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and
Poonch-Rawlakot borders have been opened for trade and
that the opening of the road between Kargil and Skardu
is in the pipeline.
  5. Immediate abolition of the current practice of
issuing city-specific and police reporting visa and
issue country-valid visa without restrictions at
arrival point, simultaneously initiating necessary
steps to introduce as early as possible a visa-free
travel regime, to encourage friendship between the
peoples of both countries;
  6. Declaration by India and Pakistan of No First
Use of atomic weapons;
  7. Concrete measures towards making South Asia
nuclear-free;
  8. Radical reduction in military spending and end
to militarisation.



Signatories:


Pakistan



  1. Mr. Iqbal Haider, Co-Chairman, Human Rights
Commission Pakistan and former federal Minister of
Pakistan
  2. Dr. Tipu Sultan, President, Pakistan Doctors for
Peace & Development, Karachi
  3. Dr. Tariq Sohail, Dean, Jinnah Medical & Dental
University , Karachi
  4. Dr. A. H.. Nayyar, President, Pakistan Peace
Coalition, Islamabad
  5. Justice (Retd) Rasheed A. Razvi, President,
Sindh High Court Bar Association
  6. Mr. B.M.Kutty, Secretary General , Pakistan
Peace Coalition, Karachi
  7. Mr. Karamat Ali, Director, PILER, Karachi ,
Founding member, PIPFPD
  8. Mr. Fareed Awan, General Secretary , Pakistan
Workers Confederation, Sindh
  9. Mr. Muhammad Ali Shah, Chairman , Pakistan
Fisherfolk Forum, Karachi
 10. Mr. Zulfiqar Halepoto, Secretary, Sindh
Democratic Front, Hyderabad
 11. Professor Dr. Sarfraz Khan, Area Studies Centre
( Central Asia), Peshawar University
 12. Syed Khadim Ali Shah, Former Member National
Assembly, Mirpur Khas
 13. Mr. Muhammad Tahseen, Director, South Asia
Partnership (PAK), Lahore
 14. Mrs. Saleha Athar, Network for Women's Rights,
Karachi
 15. Ms. Sheema Kermani, Tehreek-e-Niswan, Karachi
 16. Ms. Saeeda Diep, President, Institute of Secular
Studies, Lahore
 17. Dr. Aly Ercelan, Pakistan Labour Trust, Karachi
 18. Mr. Suleiman G. Abro, Director, Sindh
Agricultural & Forestry Workers Organisation,
Hyderabad
 19. Mr. Sharafat Ali, PILER, Karachi
 20. Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah, PILER, Karachi
 21. Mr. Ayub Qureshi, Information Secretary ,
Pakistan Trade Union Federation
 22. Ms. Sheen Farrukh, Director, Interpress
Communication Pakistan , Karachi
 23. Mr. Zafar Malik, PIPFPD, Lahore
 24. Mr. Adam Malik, Action-Aid Pakistan , Karachi
 25. Mr. Qamarul Hasan, International Union of Food
Workers (IUF), Karachi
 26. Prof. Muhammad Nauman, NED University , Karachi
 27. Mr. Mirza Maqsood, General Secretary, Mazdoor
Mahaz-e-Amal
 28. Ms. Shaista Bukhari, Women Rights Association,
Multan





India



  1. Kuldip Nayar, journalist, former Indian High
Commissioner, UK., Delhi
  2. S P Shukla, retired Finance Secretary, former
Member, Planning Commission, Delhi
  3. PEACE MUMBAI network of 15 organisations, Mumbai
  4. Seema Mustafa, Journalist, Delhi
  5. Manisha Gupte, MASUM, Pune
  6.  Dr. Ramesh Awasthi, PUCL, Maharashtra
  7. Jatin Desai, journalist, Mumbai
  8. Prof. Ritu Dewan, University of Mumbai
  9. Prabir Purkayashta, DSF, Delhi
 10. Prof. Pushpa Bhave , Mumbai
 11. Paromita Vohra, filmmaker, Mumbai
 12. Achin Vanaik, CNDP, Delhi
 13. Meena Menon, Focus on the Global South, Mumbai
 14. Romar Correa Professor of Economics, University
of Mumbai
 15. Anjum Rajabally, film writer, Mumbai
 16. Anand Patwardhan, filmmaker, Mumbai
 17. Kamla Bhasin, SANGAT, Delhi
 18. Dr. Padmini Swaminathan, MIDS, Chennai
 19. Sumit Bali, CEO, Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited
 20. Dr Walter Fernandes, Director, North Eastern
Social Research Centre , Assam ,
 21. Rabia, Lahore Chitrkar
 22. Rakesh Sharma, filmmaker, Mumbai
 23. Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, JNU, Delhi
 24. Prof. Anuradha Chenoy, JNU, Delhi
 25. P K Das, architect, Mumbai
 26. Neera Adarkar, architect, Mumbai
 27. Datta Iswalkar, Secretary, Textile Workers
Action Committee, Mumbai
 28. Madhusree Dutta, filmmaker, Majlis, Mumbai
 29. Amrita Chhachhi, Founding member, PIPFPD
 30. Mazher Hussain, COVA, Hyderabad
 31. Prof. Manoranjan Mohanty, Delhi
 32. Prof. M C Arunan, Mumbai