10th – 12th January, 2010

Dear Friends,  

Greetings! 

A number of organizations and eminent people in India have got together to organise an ‘India-Pakistan Conference: A Road Map towards Peace’ at the India International Center (IIC) from 10-12 January 2010.    

Both India and Pakistan have, for the last 62 years, seen many ups and downs in bilateral relations and talk. But the current phase of composite dialogue was significant. Four rounds had been completed, and the 5th round was in progress. The last year’s attacks on Mumbai completely hijacked this scenario and brought the relationship between the two countries to breakdown point. This was further intensified by the war hysteria whipped up by the religious right wing in both the countries.

Ever since the Indian Government announced a pause on the dialogue following the 26/11 attacks, people in both countries who are desirous of peace, have been trying to convince their respective governments to make serious attempts to restart the dialogue. The dialogue is important because another war between the two countries has to be avoided at all costs. War can destroy the fragile economic and political stability in the South Asian region as a whole, with disastrous consequences for the common people.  The dialogue is important because it helps us sort out
our problems peacefully.  

There is an urgent need for peace movements, democratic minded citizens, political parties and progressive sections of the governments of the two countries to come together to evolve an agenda and a road map for peace, and to build pressure on the governments of both countries.   

Eminent speakers like Aitzaz Ahsan, Asma Jehangir, Ayesha Siddiqua, I.A. Rehman from Pakistan and Kuldip Nayar, Salman Haider, Admiral Ramdas, Mahesh Bhatt, Muchkund Dubey and various others have confirmed their participation in this conference. 

Programme details are included below.

We hope that you will make it convenient to attend what is a very important event in the present scenario in the region.    

Participants coming from outside Delhi should write to Sonila on [email protected] confirming their participation and requisition for accommodation. We have made some modest accommodation arrangement on twin sharing basis. It will be available on first come first serve base. There is no registration fee.   

Please note that Delhi will be cold in January.

Thank You.  

Co-organisers of the initiative:

ANHAD, Centre for Policy Analysis, COVA, Focus on the Global South- India, Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, Peace Mumbai, SAHR, SANGAT, SAPA.

 

PROGRAMME DETAILS

 

India Pakistan Conference –
A Road Map towards Peace

Auditorium, India International Centre,
New Delhi

 

10th – 12th January, 2010 

 

10th January

 

09.00 –
10.00

 

Registration

 

 

10:00 –
10.30

Welcome & Inaugural

Kuldip Nayar (Chairperson, Organizing Committee & veteran Journalist)

 

 

10.30 –
1145

A Road Map towards Peace

Aitzaz Ahsan (Former President, Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan)

Mehbooba Mufti (President, People’s Democratic Party)

Admiral L. Ramdas (Former Chief of Naval Staff, Indian Navy)

Mani Shankar Aiyar (Former Union Minister)

Chair: Seema Mustafa (Senior Journalist)

 

 

11.45 –
12.30

Questions,
Comments, Discussions

 

 

12.30 –
13.30

Lunch 

 

 

13.30 –
15.00

Peace and Security in South Asia

Iqbal Haider (Former Law Minister, Pakistan)

Salman Haider (Former Foreign Secretary, India)

Kamal Chenoy (Prof. of International Relations, JNU)

Chair: A. H. Nayar (Physicist & peace activist, Islamabad)

 

 

15.00 –
16.00

Questions,
Comments, Discussions

 

 

16.00 –
16.30

Tea

 

 

18.00 –
20.00

Book release:
“Bridging partition : people’s initiatives for peace between India and Pakistan”

Edited by Smitu Kothari, Zia Mian, Kamla Bhasin, A.H. Nayar and Mohd. Tahseen
at India Islamic Cultural Center

 

 

 

 

India Pakistan Conference –
A Road Map towards Peace

Auditorium, India International Centre,
New Delhi

 

10th – 12th January, 2010 

 

Chair:
Rajendra Sacchar (Retd. Chief Justice, Delhi High Court & PUCL)

11th January

 

09.30 –
11.45

 

Issue of Autonomy: Balochistan

Asma Jehangir (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan,
UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion & belief)

Malik Siraj Akbar (Senior Journalist, Quetta, Pakistan)

Bizenjo Hasil Khan, (Senator, Balochistan, Pakistan)

 

 

10.30 –
11.45

 

Issue of Autonomy: Kashmir

Yasin Malik (Leader, JKLF)

Sajjad Lone (President, Peoples Conference)

 

 

11.45 –
12.30

Questions,
Comments, Discussions

 

 

12.30 –
13.30

Lunch 

 

 

13.30 –
14.30

Climate Change and its Impact on Indo-Pak Relations

Dr. Abid Suleri (Executive Director,
Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan)

Dr. Vandana Shiva (Founder, Navdanya)

Farooq Tariq (Spokesperson, Pakistan Labour Party)

Amb. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta (Distinguised Fellow, TERI)

Chair : Lalita Ramdas (Chair of the Green Peace International Board)

 

 

14.30 –
15.00

Questions,
Comments, Discussions

 

 

15.00 –
16.15

Trade as an Instrument of Peace

Muchkund Dubey (Former Foreign Secretary, India)

Ravi Wig (Chairman, SAARC, ASSOCHAM)

Akbar Zaidi (Leading Pakistani Economist)

Chair: Dr. Biswajit Dhar (Director General,
Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries)

 

 

16.15 – 17.00

Questions, Comments, Discussions

 

 

17.00-17.30

Tea

 

India Pakistan Conference –
A Road Map towards Peace

Auditorium, India International Centre,
New Delhi

 

10th – 12th January, 2010 

 

12th January

 

09.30 –
11.30

 

Militancy, Joint Mechanism and Role of the US

Amitabh Mattoo (Prof. of International Politics,
JNU & member of the National Knowledge Commission)

Ayesha Siddiqa (Security Analyst, Strategic Affairs Columnist, Pakistan)

Rajiv Sikri (Former Secretary, MEA, India)

Sajjad Lone (President, Peoples Conference)

 

 

11.30 –
12.30

Questions,
Comments, Discussions

 

 

12.30
–13.30

Lunch 

 

 

13.30 –
14.45

Media & Culture in War and Peace

B. Murlidhar Reddy (Journalist , The Hindu , based in Sri Lanka)

Liaqat Ali Toor (Journalist, Associated Press of Pakistan, based in Delhi)

Kuldip Nayar(Veteran Journalist)

Mahesh Bhatt (Film Maker)

Madeeha Gauhar (Theatre Director and Women Rights’ Activist, Pakistan)

Chair:
Ved Bhasin (Editor, Kashmir Times)

 

 

14.45 –
15.30

Questions,
Comments, Discussions

 

 

15.30 –
17.00

Declaration & plan of action

Chair:
Kamla Bhasin (Peace, Human Women Rights activist)

 

 

 

Organisations:

ANHAD, Centre for Policy Analysis, COVA, Hyderabad, Focus on the Global South, India, Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Hind-Pak Dosti Manch, Peace Mumbai, Sangat, South Asian Peace Alliance, South Asians for Human Rights