The Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners has called for immediate repatriation of sick and mentally disabled prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

While the Indian and Pakistani governments talk about confidence building measures and increased people to people interactions, the relaity has not changed. Nine young cyclists from Maharashtra, having carried the message of peace through 2000 KM in India, on their way to Islamabad were denied visas by the Pakistani government.

In the summer of 2005, some visionary Indians and Pakistanis decided to jointly march from New Delhi to Karachi, meeting with communities along the way and talking about peace. This is a short film on that march following it for a week through the plains of Punjab, India.

Maryam, a Pakistani student at Boston University, talks to us about a youth event in Lahore earlier this year and her experiences in helping organize the event. This audio interview is part of an evolving effort of Radio South Asia.

The second visa-free and peaceful South Asia convention held in Lahore – widely covered in the Pakistani Press – was a forum for much discussion by various members of Indian and Pakistani citizen groups.

As part of the second gathering of Indians and Pakistanis for a Visa free and Peaceful South Asia, visiting Indian citizens join in a fast in Lahore with their Pakistani hosts. Leading up to the event, Pakistani youth had organized a program where they pledged to work for Indo-Pak peace.

Prof. Ramneek Mohan presents his thoughts on concrete steps that the Visa Free and Nuclear Free South Asia Conference should consider.

Pakistani peace activists decided to join in paying respects to Nehru and the celebrations of Children’s Day in India by organizing and participating in a teleconference with a group of children in Jaipur, Rajasthan. This picture is from the site in Hyderabad.

Another teleconference between children from Rohtak (India) and Hyderabad (Pakistan) is an effort to further decentralize this peace movement. Will the people of Pakistan and India not bet on peace once they get to know each other? Prof. Ramneek Mohan describes this effort.

The season for peace seems to be catching. Indians and Pakistanis around North America have held joint programs to celebrate the independence of their respective countries as well as urge their governments for bolder steps for sustained peace in that region.

Saeeda Diep shares stories from her recent trip with the Pakistani delegation to India. The delegation participated with their Indian counterparts in a variety of events urging greater peace and less bureaucracy.

Indians and Pakistanis in various parts of North America, including Toronto, Washington DC, and San Francisco celebrated the anniversaries of their Independence Day together, pledging to work for peace between the two countries.

During the recently concluded India Pakistan Peace March from Delhi to Multan when we got a chance to interact with a number of common people of both sides of the border in meetings as well as on road, we were overwhelmed by the popular yearning of citizens of both countries for a more transparent border between the two countries.

Early afternoon on 17th June, about 10 children from Hyderabad, Pakistan and as many from Lucknow, India talked with each other about the need for peace between the two nations, inviting the other to come spend time with them as well as singing songs.

The No! No! Campaign!! Asking India and Pakistan to reject fighter planes from the USA was launched successfully on 11th May 2005 in India and Pakistan during the South Asian Peace Conference in Multan in which over 800 delegates from across Pakistan participated. Admiral Ramdas launched the Campaign at a Public Meeting in Hyderabad, India

A peace march was organized in DC from the Indian Embassy to the Pakistani embassy in solidarity with the march from Delhi to Multan. This photograph is courtesy AID .

Peace marchers from India crossed the border into Pakistan on 7th May, 2005, to carry on the march to Multan.

There are enough reasons for establishing peace between India and Pakistan. But the building blocks for this process are constantly being questioned. Does Kashmir need to be solved? Are more confidence building measures necessary? What?

Peace events are being planned by South Asian communities across the USA in solidarity with the peace march that threads its way across India and Pakistan.

The march is now on its fifth day and for the marchers and organizers it has been five days of energizing public participation.

nafisa ali, mahesh bhatt and syed abdur rahman geelani at the start of the peace march.

The miserable condition of prisoners detained under the Foreign Act (Pakistan) demanded serious attention as scores of Indian prisoners are locked up in different central jails of Balochistan. SEHER, a Pakistani organization based in Quetta, has responded to the needs of these prisoners.

South Asians living in the Vancouver area gathered at Collingwood Neighborhood House on February 26, 2005 to celebrate the completion of the first Joint India-Pakistan Peace and Goodwill Mission.

SAPAC has organized a reception in Chicago for the group of expatriates that visited India and Pakistan on a peace mission.

A story of people at war over borders and boundaries.
A documentary film by Pervez Hoodbhoy and Zia Mian (Eqbal Ahmad Foundation, 2004).

Indian organizers of the Peace March met in Delhi to take stock of the current state. This is a brief report on their discussions and resolutions.

The Hindustan Times reported that in a tribute to the friendship of Mahatma Gandhi and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a group from Pakistan is expected to join an event marking 75 years of the historic Dandi march.

The Joint India-Pakistan Peace and Goodwill Mission ended on the afternoon of Saturday, January 8, 2005, following a Press Conference, at the Press Club, Mumbai, India. The delegation had started its visit at Karachi, Pakistan, on the evening of December 27, 2004.

This is a call to South Asians living outside South Asia to organize peace events in your local communities in solidarity with the march.

Detailed route of the peace march from New Delhi to Multan.

A peace effort by expatriate Indians and Pakistanis from North America and Europe will visit ten cities in India and Pakistan between December 28, 2004 – Jan 8, 2005.

Various Pakistani groups met to discuss and organize the Indo-Pak Peace March on October 25, 2004.

The Second Annual Indo-Pak Independence Day Peace Celebration, in Houston, organized by Indian and Pakistani Communities and by local South Asian physicians in collaboration with community volunteers was held at the Holiday Inn Select in Houston on September 4th 2004.

A peace march is being planned by PIPFPD (Pakistan India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy) starting from Delhi, on 23rd March and will make its way to Multan, on 11th May, 2005.

People of Indian and Pakistani origin living in the Washington area gathered around the statue of Gandhi to celebrate their respective Independence day and bring focus to peace in that region.