Vajpayee calls for end to bloodshed

ISLAMABAD: India's prime minister called for an end to bloodshed between Pakistan and India in a statement read out yesterday before a peace conference in the Pakistani capital, saying the two nations must heed the will of their peoples and learn to live side-by-side as friends.

"Violence and bloodshed cannot provide any solutions. We can live together only if we let each other live," Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in the statement, read out by an Indian delegate at the conference.

"Co-operation, rather than confrontation, is the answer to our common problems."

The conference, organized by a prominent journalists' group with branches in both countries, is the latest effort to ease tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours. It brings together Indian and Pakistani parliamentarians for two days of talks at Islamabad's Marriott hotel.

The 59-member Indian delegation - 33 lawmakers and 26 journalists - crossed the Indian-Pakistani border on Saturday afternoon, receiving a warm welcome from Pakistani political parties and human rights workers, who shouted slogans of peace and showered them with rose petals.

Yesterday, Pakistani and Indian parliamentarians sat facing each other in a brightly lit ballroom at the hotel, each taking turns speaking about their nations' future.

During the conference, the delegates will encourage both governments to resume stalled peace talks. They will also discuss Kashmir, a divided Himalayan region that both India and Pakistan claim in its entirety.

Vajpayee said in the statement, written from the Indian capital of New Delhi, that the conference provided hope for the future.

"The meeting and the themes for discussion are a forceful reiteration of the popular desire in both of our countries for a normal, peaceful, friendly and co-operative relationship," he said.

"We cannot deny our people their right to peaceful and co-operative economic development."

M. Ziauddin, the Pakistani president of the South Asia Free Media Association, which organized the conference, said he hoped it would serve to bring better understanding.

"These are exciting times for Pakistan and India. There is a peace process going on and I hope this conference provides participants the right kind of atmosphere to air their ideas and thoughts without inhibitions," he said.

The two nations have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. They were on the brink of a fourth war last year after a December 13, 2001, attack on the Indian parliament. New Delhi blamed the assault on two Pakistani-based militant groups and Pakistan's spy agency.

Pakistan outlawed the militant groups but denied involvement.

Relations have improved in recent months. India and Pakistan have restored diplomatic ties and resumed bus links.

The two countries are also discussing re-establishing air and train links.