“The loss of lives due to border skirmishes is not just a problem for Pakistan; India is also suffering loss of precious lives by the firing of Pakistani forces,” Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghavan on Wednesday told an event organised by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in Lahore when he was asked about the ongoing deaths by unprovoked firing by Indian forces.
Addressing the talk titled “The Peace Dividend: What People of India and Pakistan Will Gain from Peace and Goodwill between the Two Countries, Dr Raghavan advised both Pakistan and India to not to indulge in past bitterness and move forward.
India has achieved average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of six percent in last three decades and is planning to take this figure to eight percent within 20 years, the Indian HC substantiated, maintaining that it will be in India’s own interest to have peaceful neighbours, including Pakistan, for achieving the projected GDP ratio. Describing poverty as a common evil of the region, he stressed finding ways of its alleviation rather than “talking of fighting all the time”.
During his speech, he lauded the Ufa meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries and also urged that border security forces (BSFs) and director general military operations (DGMO) should meet frequently to ease out the tensions.
Seasoned journalists and human rights activists IA Rehman, Hussain Naqi, Rashid Rehman, Madeeha Gohar, HRCP Vice Chairman Dr Naazish Attaullah, Saleema Hashmi and Hina Jillani attended the event.