Christian body slams terrorism, calls for peace

>From Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) A prominent Christian body Saturday urged India and
Pakistan to refrain from armed conflict and resolve their differences
through peaceful means.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) called for initiating
dialogue between the two countries to deal with terrorism that has seen a
sudden spurt during since April and claimed nearly 50 lives in Jammu and
Kashmir.

Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated following the attack on
an army camp May 14 when terrorists mowed down 31 people, mostly wives and
children of Indian soldiers, and the assassination of separatist leader
Abdul Ghani Lone on May 21.

Expressing concern about the possibility of a confrontation between the two
nuclear powers, CBCI appealed to both the governments to show restraint.
While condemning the latest terrorists attacks, it called upon Islamabad to
"stop the infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir."

"India and Pakistan must work towards diplomacy and dialogue to avoid the
present situation at their borders," said Percival Fernandez, CBCI's
secretary general.

"War, which ends only in the massacre of innocent people on both sides,
should be avoided at all costs and both the countries should understand that
they cannot afford a war at a time when millions of their people are living
in poverty, social injustice, illiteracy and painful economic conditions."

Delhi's Archbishop Vincent Concessao said: "War is not the right solution to
remove terrorism from India and Pakistan."

"The CBCI is of the firm conviction that Indians and Pakistanis are a peace
loving people and they would never want a war between the two countries as a
means to fight terrorism, which has affected both the countries and claimed
hundreds of innocent lives," a statement issued by the CBCI said.

Nearly 30,000 people have been killed in a bloody separatist campaign in
Jammu and Kashmir since 1989.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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