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LAHORE, Feb 7: The Labour Party
Pakistan has urged India and Pakistan to withdraw their forces
from the borders in order to avert any major catastrophe in the
region.
Speaking at a news conference here on Thursday, LPP's general
secretary Farooq Tariq said that instead both the countries should
wage a war against poverty and ignorance.
He said that the people of Kashmir should be given the right to
determine their destiny through a referendum under the auspices of
the Kashmiris' representative parties in the state of Jammu and
Kashmir.
Mr Tariq said that Kashmiris were an independent nation having
their 'own culture, language, territory and traditions'. Most
Kashmiri people wanted independence and as such they should be
given all the three options - joining India or Pakistan or having
an independent status.
He said that his party firmly believed in the right of
self-determination to the people of the state of Jammu and
Kashmir.
Mr Tariq recently toured some European countries as head of a
party delegation. The party delegation comprised LPP Sindh general
secretary Umar Baloch and a central national committee member
Rizwan Ata.
He said that he and other members of the delegation spoke at a
meeting at Brussels, the headquarter of the EC, and highlighted
the cause of the Kashmiris. The meeting was organized by the
United Left Group of the European parliament.
Mr Tariq said that by resorting to 'disastrous' bombing in
Afghanistan, the Americans had promoted war phobia in the world.
Instead of solving the disputes through dialogue, the language of
war was now being resorted to.
Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee had now been using the language of
US President Bush, he pointed out.
The LPP leader expressed concern over the deployment of troops by
India and Pakistan on the borders and said that there was every
apprehension of a major war erupting even on a minor pretext.
By Our Reporter
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