People-to-people contact should resume, says Pak delegation India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

A group of academicians and sportspersons from Pakistan, now in India, has spoken in favour of promoting people to people contact between the two countries. The delegation comprising nearly 30 sportsmen and academicians of Aitchison College, Lahore is in India to participate in the 150th anniversary of Bishop Cotton at Shimla. To make people of India and Pakistan come closure the Governments of India and Pakistan started people to people contact policy under its Confidence Building Measures (CBM) in 2004. After 26/11 attack on Mumbai, the number of delegations between the two countries has declined. F.S. Aijazuddin, the Principal of Aitchison College, Lahore said, "The old generation of these two countries may have their reservations. But the new generation thinks global and they must know each other and understand respective needs and problems." Aijazuddin suggested that besides exchange of visits by delegations there should be exchange of visiting faculties between the two countries who would teach history, custom and culture of their own country. "It is important to make people know each other", said Aijazuddin. Members of the delegation said that the both Governments should not only resume the people-to-people contact policy but also speed-up the strategy to establish peace in the sub-continent. Shanaz, Vice Principal of the Aitchison College, said, "It is the mindset and the commitment which can cause success or failure of any policy." She said that when the youth of India and Pakistan would meet each other, they would share their ideas and able to explore more avenues that might enable them understand each other.