India, Pak volunteers to conduct peace march

Volunteers from India and Pakistan will conduct a peace march in an attempt to bring an end to the death of soldiers manning borders of the two countries, increase contact between people from both nations, open roads and even denuclearise the South Asian region.

The Indian delegation, led by social activist and Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey will start from Sabarmati Ashram on June 19 and reach Nadeswari Mata Temple on the Indian side on June 30. Several meetings will be held during the march. Personalities such as Professor Anil Gupta, Mallika Sarabhai, MLAs Jignesh Mevani and Naushad Solanki, and activist Prakash N Shah, among others, will support the march. The Pakistani contingent, led by activist Karamat Ali, will gather in Karanchi.

“The topmost agenda is to stop deaths of soldiers of both countries,” said Pandey.

He also advocated denuclearisation of the South Asia region. “Our animosity with Pakistan is as old as that between North and South Korea. If they can decide to denuclearise, why can’t we,” he said. “More people-to-people contact is the only way to reduce the animosity between the populace of both nations. There should also be a peace ceremony on the border allowing people to interact.”