An international non-governmental conference, organised by Pugwash, on the disputed territory of Kashmir is underway in the Nepali capital for the second day Monday.

Organised at the initiative of Pugwash, an international think tank, the conference has brought together leaders from both sides of Kashmir, former diplomats, former military officers and academics from arch rival India and Pakistan.

Talking to reporters after the first day’s closed door meetings, secretary general of Pugwash, prof. Paolo Cotta-Ramusino said that it will take time to resolve a very old issue like Kashmir but there is unanimity that violence must stop in the valley. “The conference is progressing positively,” he added.

Leaders of Indian-administered Kashmir-based All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), former Prime Minister of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir Sultan Chaudhary, and other political leaders from across the Line of Control-the border line that divides Kashmir into two parts-are taking part in the conference.

There is no official representation of the governments of India and Pakistan in the meeting but organizers said the outcome of the meeting would be handed over to both the governments.

The conference is taking place in the backdrop of thaw in relations between the two nuclear neighbours.

Joseph Rotblat, the then President of Pugwash, and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for “their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and in the longer run to eliminate such arms.”

An international think tank, Pugwash operates its activities from its offices based in Washington DC, London, Rome and Geneva. nepalnews.com by Dec 13 04