KARACHI, March 3: Indian Communist leaders have termed their meetings with Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and politicians encouraging and their visit a pleasant experience which helped them understand their point of view on various contentious issues which are obstructing good mutual relations and economic well-being of the two peoples.
These views were expressed by visiting Indian leaders Herkishan Singh Surjeet, Secretary General of Communist Party of India (Marxist) and A B Bardhan, Secretary General of Communist Party of India, during their meeting with Mr Nisar Khuhro, the parliamentary party leader of the Pakistan People's Party, here on Thursday at the Sindh Assembly building.
The Indian leaders were accompanied by Imdad Qazi and Dr Mazhar, leaders of the Communist Party of Pakistan. During the meeting which lasted for an hour, they exchanged views on matters of mutual interest.
Others present on the occasion included PPP leaders Taj Haider, Habibuddin Junedi, Waqar Mehdi, Latif Moghal, MPAs Murad Ali Shah, Jam Mehtab Dher, Asar Das, Nuzhat Pathan, and Sasui Palejo.
After the meeting, Mr Surjeet expressed his belief that with joint efforts and mutual cooperation of the people of the two countries, contentious issues could be solved which would pave way for the wellbeing of the people not only in the two countries, but in the region. But if we continue to oppose and clash with each other, no development was possible, he added.
Mr Surjeet said: "We have exchanged views and tried to understand the nature of differences and how they could be overcome to move forward on the present path of promoting good relations.
Terming their journey of Pakistan a success he hoped that if we continue to pursue the present path of dialogue for understanding issues and point of view of each other, the course of events would usher a change conducive for mutual interest.
In his opening statement, Mr Surjeet pointed out that although they were not part of the United Progressive Alliance, led by Congress party, yet without support of 61 left MPs, the Congress party could not form the government. "Our support to the UPA government was on the basis of a 50-point programme, including principles of anti-communalism and anti-sectarianism."
Mr Bardhan said that they had come to Pakistan with a message from people from India that India and Pakistan were two major countries of South Asia and if they resolve their mutual issues, their impact would pave a new era of peace and progress in the region.
He said they were happy to note that there was similar goodwill for each other among the people of two countries and it was this spirit which had forced their leaders to sit and hold dialogue to resolve confronting issues without going to war.
Mr Bardhan said they had good talks with the PPP leaders and they had taken notes of their proposals and they would submit them to the party for consideration.
He said some of the suggestions like that of putting a cap on the defence budget, there were no two opinions because if we want to progress, there was no other way but to cap the defence budget.
He said before taking our journey to Pakistan, a meeting was held with Indian Prime Minister, defence minister and finance minister with the left wing leaders where the issue of curtailing the defence budget was discussed.
How far the new Indian budget reflects accommodation of their proposal would only be analyzed after their return to India. In reply to another question, Mr Bardhan said that the PPP was a major party in Pakistan whose leaders had suffered and faced prisons in the struggle for democracy.
"This is a common feature between PPP and CPIs" as Mr Surjeet had been in two prisons of Pakistan at Lahore and Sahiwal while he himself had faced imprisonment in eight to 10 jails of India. In the cause of people, one had to face sufferings, he added.
RECEPTION: Later, at a reception hosted by the Karachi Union of Journalists and the Joint Left Parties of Pakistan on Thursday evening, the visiting Indian communist leaders urged the Left-oriented parties of Pakistan to form a united front to bring about economic reforms in the country.
They maintained that Indian Leftist parties had adopted the present course because they were fully convinced they could not achieve their desired objectives without unity.
They were also of the view that it was up to the Left parties of Pakistan to decide their role in the political setup of the country, saying "we have not come here to dictate our views."
At the outset of speech, comrade Bardhan gave an objective view of Left movement in India, saying the problems faced by the Left in Pakistan were the same which had been faced by the Left in India.
He pointed out that fundamentalism and communalism had always been a great threat to our society but the Indian communist parties had always been in the forefront in the struggle for a secular India. Comarde Shoab Batti, Sufi Abdul Khalique and Qazi Imdad also spoke.
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