Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 2: Ahead of much anticipated meeting of the Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries, senior diplomats, Parliamentarian, policy makers and journalists from both the countries met at Islamabad for the fourth round of Track-II dialogue .
The two delegations discussed a range of issues, including the resumption of bilateral dialogue, Jammu and Kashmir, opportunities for cooperation towards stability in Afghanistan, the shared challenges posed by climate change and the role of media in creating a conducive atmosphere for improving bilateral discourse.
The Islamabad dialogue was jointly organized by the Jinnah Institute and the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation, last week.
The conference was the part of Jinnah Institute’s leading initiative on peace building through Track-II diplomacy between India and Pakistan.
Special Assistant to the Pak Prime Minister on foreign affairs, Tariq Fatemi, met the delegates and gave a key not address outlining the foreign policy priorities of their Government.
The participants call on Islamabad and New Delhi to restart discussions on all outstanding issues and hoped that concrete progress would be made during the visit of Indian Foreign Secretary. Delegates discussed the prevailing political situation in both the countries and its impact on shaping bilateral relationship.
After two-day discussions, a joint statement was issued, emphasizing the need for strict adherence to the ceasefire and maintenance of peace on the border, effective cooperation to address the issue of terrorism and growing threat of extremism, removing hurdles before CMS, especially those facilitating people to people contacts, travel and trade between the two countries and across the LoC, early finalization of additional CBMs under discussion, removal of existing information barriers between the two countries by opening up news and other TV channels, Indo-Pak cooperation in ensuring stability in Afghanistan, implementation of SAARC statement on climate change, etc.
Senior journalists from India and Pakistan also dissected trends in print and electronic media, highlighting that lack of information and understanding on both sides often prevented the media playing constructive role in peace building. They called for opening up of airwaves for news and TV channels and liberalization of the visa regime for media persons from both the countries.
Indian delegate included Prem Shankar Jha, Jayant Prasad, Amit Singh Chadha, Sushhobha Barve, Suhasini Haider, Jyoti Malhotra, Aakar Patel, Shubbhra Chatturvedi and Omair Ahmed.
Participants of the conference from Pak side, included Sherry Rehman, Aziz Ahmad Khan, Najmuddin Shaikh, Salman Bashir, Farhatullah Babar, Mariana Baabar, Shafqat Mahmood, Talat Masood, Zahida Hussain, Sardar Attique Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Ziauddin, Shafqat Kakakhel, Amir Mateen, Arifa Noor, Hamir Mir and Murtaza Solangi.
Follow our WhatsApp channel