KARACHI - India and Pakistan should shun acquiring new devastating weapons and join hands for peace, prosperity and co-operation for the larger interest of people in the region, experts from across both countries have opined.

Addressing the seminar ‘Promoting Peace in South Asia and Remembering Didi Nirmala Deshpande’, organised by Pakistan Peace Coalition and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) here, they said that both neighboring nations were passing though a critical phase, and any military altercation under these circumstances would have a long term effect on the relation of both.

Speakers at the seminar urged the leadership of countries to speed-up the peace process. They also volleyed for the bilateral talks to begin soon.

“We bluntly reject the separation of people on any basis; we need to accelerate the peace process and it is high time now that the PPP government in Pakistan and the Congress in India play their role to step the process up,” The Daily Times quoted a well-known social activist, Dr. Sandep Pandey, as saying.

“People of both the countries needed to challenge their governments, as they are not concerned about the issues of the common man,” said Kavita Shrivastava, a Rajasthan based human rights activist.

The key to development is peace, and co-operation, they opined.

“South Asian countries have remained in slavery and its negative effects could only be removed by collective action. Peaceful, non-violent, cooperation are the key factors for development and prosperity,” said a veteran trade union activist, Karamat Ali. (ANI)