Pakistani and Indian media should play role for peace:Kaira

Lahore: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Friday said that the Pakistani and Indian media should play a significant role in creating an environment where the two governments could take decisions without taking pressure in the interest of both countries.

Addressing a Pakistan-India media conference at the
Lahore Press Club, Kaira said that problems could never
be resolved through fighting. Both the countries have only one
option of solving problems through peace and it will be good for
both the sides, he added.

He said that when the two nations separated, some elements
wanted to create tensions among them which further
aggravated the problems. “What we have learnt from past experiences
is that both the countries should continue the process of
further strengthening relations and they should not let it
derail or hijack in case of on any untoward incident,” he added.

The Information Minister said the Government of Pakistan had
given relief to the Indian TV channels and India should also show flexibility for Pakistani channels. “Sport activities should be
promoted between the two countries to further ease tensions. We look
at the world, relations among the countries develop through trade.
The economy of both the countries is growing and we have to remove
barriers like other countries,” he added.

Replying to a question, he said that the visa issue of senior
citizens would be resolved soon.

PPP Secretary General and Leader of the House in Senate,
Jahangir Badr, said that the wars, which India and Pakistan, had fought created many problems. Peace between the two countries means peace in South Asia and peace in South Asia ultimately leads to global peace,he added.

He said that the negative trade list would come to an end
in December as an agreement had already been reached after which free
trade would start. “The media can play a vital role in finding
solutions to problems instead of discussing issues. Shaheed
Benazir Bhutto wanted to create a South Asian Parliament like
the European Parliament where solutions to problems could be found.
Four interactions of parliament to parliament have taken place
which is a good sign,” he added.

Press Club of India Secretary General Anil Anand said
that both the countries should leave history behind as they
could not afford to stay in history. He said that the people and
journalism could develop strong relations between the two
countries. “People-to-people contact is important to change the
vision of our younger generation,” he added.

Chandigarh Press Club President Sukhbir Singh Bajwa said
that the Pakistan-India media interaction should improve further and misunderstandings on both the sides should be removed soon.
He said that the young people from Pakistan and India, who