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2nd Indo-Pak Students Peace Camp: 12 Pakistani students leave for India
LAHORE, Oct 1: Twelve Pakistani students will leave for Chandigarh, India, via Wagah
today (Monday) to participate in the second 'Indo-Pak Students Peace
Camp'.
Mubashir Ahmed, the Centre for Youth Development and Activities
(CYDA) coordinator, said that the tour's purpose was to promote
peace and people-to-people, especially between young Indians and
Pakistanis.
He said CYDA, in collaboration with several Indian
organisations, was working to develop relations between India and
Pakistan.
He said, "We exchanged a similar delegation in 2006. The camp's
organisers will also celebrate October 2, which is Mahatma Gandhi birthday, as
India-Pakistan Peace Day.
He said students would discuss various themes
including peace and harmony, nature and non-violence, environment and poverty. A
mock UN Assembly representing 20 countries would be organised, which would hold
discussions on the theme 'Make Poverty History'.
We talked to
two sisters who were part of the delegation. Hira Rehman, who is the elder of
the two, said she was in the MBA programme at LSE. She said she would speak on
Australia's role in South Asia and would brief participants on how the policies
of developed nations affected developing countries.
She said she was
excited about her trip to India and that it would help the students of both
countries to understand each other's history and culture. She said, "This is the
time for us to forget our disputes and work together for better
relations."
Hajira Hafeez, the younger sister, said she was in the
Bachelors programme at LSE. She said she would speak on the role of the European
Union in fighting poverty in Third World countries. She said the visit to India
would help improve the participants' confidence. She said such visits would also
provide the students the opportunity to reduce tensions between India and
Pakistan. Daily Times
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