PAST EVENTS 

Number of groups and delegates have visited Pakistan and India to promote the objectives of the Forum. Visits by these delegations have proved very useful. In many cases numbers of the delegations had meetings of the highest government, political and social levels.

Incoming groups:

Delegation of Indian Parliamentariens
An eight member Indian Parliamentarians delegation arrived in Pakistan on June 17, 2003 on invitation of Pakistan-India Peoples'' Forum for Peace and Democracy to promote people-to-people contact for peace in the region. The delegation comprised of Mr. Kuldip Nayar, Mr. Kartar Singh Duggal, Mr. Ramdas Athawale, Mr. Pawan Kumar Bansal, Mr. K. M. Khan, Mr. Abdul Rashid Shaheen, Mr. Shahid Siddiqui and Mr. Lakshman Seth. The delegation was given very enthusiastic welcome wherever the members of the delegation went. They met people from all walks of life and from the cross sections of the society. Even the religious parties held receptions in their honour. During their eight-day stay, the delegates visited Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi where political parties, NGOs and high government functionaries held receptions in their honour and exchanged views on bilateral issues. The Indian parliamentarians addressed a very well attended Press conference at Lahore Press Club before they left for India on 25 June 2003.

Delegation of Diplomats
Under the auspices of the forum a team of diplomats comprising:
Former Foreign Secretary &. Former High Commissioner of India to UK, Mr. Salman Haider.
Former Foreign Secretary &. Former Ambassador of India to France Mr. M. K. Rasgotra.
Former Ambassador of India to Spain &. Kenya Mrs. Manorama Bhalla.
Former Ambassador of India to Egypt & Maxico Mr. P. A. Nazareth.
Former Ambassador of India to China & France Mr. C. V. Ranganathan.

They visited Lahore and Islamabad from 3rd to 7th August 2000.

They called upon General Pervez Musharraf and invited to banquets by former President Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, former Prime Minister Malik Meraj Khalid, renowned human rights crusader Asma Jehangir and famous lawyer, Mr Raza Kazim. They also addressed several public and private gatherings.

Women''s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA)
The 33 women delegation was arrived at Lahore on 25th November 2000. They had warm welcomed by ASR, PIPFPD, HRCP, Aurat Foundation and several other organizations at Faletti''s. ASR made all facilities, arrangements and accommodations for their respective guests and handed over gift bags. Next day they visited academic institutions for their meetings scheduled by ASR, They visited Kinnaird College, National College of Arts, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Pakistan-India Peoples'' Forum for Peace and Democracy hosted a dinner at Faletti''s Hotel, They went to Harrapa for sight seeing. On last day ASR arranged a meeting with activists, students, faculty and theatre groups at their office. After that a dinner hosted by Principal Saint Anthony School, Lahore. The Indian women group went back to Delhi by ?Dosti Bus? on 29th November, 2000.

The delegation was comprised as following women:
Malashri Lal, Kamala Sankaran, Geeta Mishra, Neera Chandhoke, Shormishtna Panja, Manorama Bawa, Sukrita Palil Kumar, Purabi Panwar, Aruna Chakravarti, Meera Khanna, Sehjo Singh, Malathi Subra Manlum, Monica Zutshi, Meenakshi Thapan, Jai Chadi Ram, Aarti Dhar, Aruna Mandhir Singh, Susheela Kaushikiyer, Vandana Mahajan, Preeti Singh, Monika Mamajan, Ved Kumari, Kumud Khanna, Surinder Jitendra Sharna, Mohua Chatterjee, Aruna Siesh, Kiran Datar, Asha Singh Kanwar, Ranjana Saxena, Pervin Malhotra, Teresa Tasha Abrahan, Zarina Bhatty, Vipla Kadri, Badar Sultana.

"India Pakistan Soldiers'' Initiatives for Peace" (IPSIP)
The Forum actively helped in the visit of senior Indian military leaders and their wives to Pakistan from 23 February to 2 March 2001 along with Ms. Nirmala Deshpande, the famous Indian peace activist.

The group included Ms. Nirmala Deshpande (ex-parliamentarian and a dynamic leader of peace initiative). Admiral and Mrs. Ramdas (ex-Indian Navel Chief) Lt. Gen. and Mrs. Moti Dhar (Vice Chief of Staff Indian Army)

Prominent figures among Pakistani hosts were Air Marshal (rtd) Zafar A. Chaudhry, Maj. Gen. S. Wajahat Hussain, Lt Gen. Nishat Ahmad, Admiral Yastour Malik, Gen. Jahangir Karamat, Air Marshal Khurshid Mirza, Lt. Gen. Naseer Akhtar, Maj. Gen. Qayyum, Lt. Gen. Zianullah Khan, Maj. Gen. Jamshid Malik, and Air Vice Marshal Farooq Omer ware participated.

At Islamabad the visitors called upon General Pervez Musharraf, met many retired military officers of Pakistan at discussion groups, formal meetings and banquets. At Lahore, the members of ?IPSIP? had a detailed exchange of views with ?Kashmir Martyrs Parents Association? led by Maj. Gen. M. H. Ansari. They also called upon Kashmiri leaders at Islamabad.
click here to see Photo Album....
Click here to see "Goodwill Visit by Retired Senior Indian Armed Forces Officers" by Brig. Rao Abid Hamid

Student and Youth visits
The following visits of youth and students from India were arranged or facilitated by the forum.

Samvada''s planned a student exposure trip to Pakistan from 12th November 1999 to 23rd November 1999 comprised with two staff members alongwith 7 boys and 4 girls. They were Ms Anita Ratnam Ganesh, (Director of Samvada), Miss Usha B. N. (Staff member), and students were Mr. Anuj Bhawania, Miss Chaitra T. P., Mr. Manu Gopalan Madhavan, Mr. Kaman Singh Dhami, Mr. Anthony K. K., Mr. Shivanna B., Mr. Venkatesh C., Mr. Dayanand H. N., Miss Deepti Raut, Miss Padma N. V., Miss Shahrukh Alam.
Samvada is an organization that has been working with youth and students both rural and urban in different localities, in and around Bangalore (India) for the past 12 years.
The objectives of the exposure trip were: To enable an appreciation of the peoples and the cultures within Pakistan
To facilitate a process of experiential learning about diversities of Pakistan, rather than see it as a monolithic nation-state To facilitate an understanding of the common problems that the people of the two countries face; poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, gender discrimination and growing fundamentalism etc.
To provide an opportunity for students to appreciate the natural beauty of Pakistan.
To enable an understanding of Islam - its spiritual underpinnings and the stances of moderate as well as fundamentalist forces.
Anita Ratnam, Director of Samvada informed us to exposure the life of Pakistani families to explore the differences and similarities with Indians families. They had planned to visit youth groups, traditional markets, and scenic spot
The group arrived at Lahore Airport (Pakistan) on 12th day of November. Next day they paid a visit to National College of Arts and Anarkali Bazaar. In evening they visited to AGHS and met with women''s layers. At night they met the members of Pakistan-India Peoples'' Forum for Peace and Democracy and took a dinner at ?Lahore Gym Khana Club? hosted by Lahore District Chapter.
They also visited Lahore Museum, Fort, Shalimar Gardens, Wazir Khan Mosque, Alhamrah Art Center and other sights. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan invited them for tea and interaction with their members. After that fruitful discussion they went for lunch hosted by South Asia Partnership of Pakistan. In evening they went Scholars College and Aurat Foundation.
They also visited for Islamabad & Peshawar and met many peace activists. At Peshawar they visited Peshawar University, Museum, Peshawar Model School, Bara and Khyber Pass.
On last they went a village "Dera Seghal" near Lahore for interaction with rural families. They saw a puppet Festival at Alhamrah and went back with pleasant memories on 23rd November.

Sri Ramjas College, Delhi, A group of History students comprised of 13 members including 1 teacher of History department, paid a visit to Pakistan for their educational purpose. They were comprised of Mr. Mukul Mangalik, (Teacher), and students Iftikhar Hussain, Banajit Hussain, Rajnish Kumar, Gagan Kumar, Karan Singh Bagal, Sudhir Kumar, Mitul Baruha, Sidharth Mishra, Madhuresh Kumar, Gaurav Srimastara, Amit KD Singh, Anord Vivek Taneja.They visited historical places of Pakistan and their visit at Lahore the Pakistan-India Peoples'' Forum for Peace and Democracy hosted a "Iftar party" to their honor at PIPFPD office on 7 January, 2000.

From St. Stephen''s College, Delhi University, a group of 11 members of History students including 1 teacher was invited with Mr. Shoaib Hashmi, a prominent personality, at PIPFPD office for interaction.
They were comprised of Mr. R. C. Malhan (Head of Economics Department, St. Stephen?s College), and students Vivek Samta, Varun Maheshwari, Niranjana Unnikrishnan, Shauravi Malik, Gauri Paraeher, Rahul Roy, Rashmi Dastidar, Jacob Joseph P., Ishan J. Chatterjee, Yatin Bhardwat.
A tea party was hosted by PIPFPD at Forum''s office on 13 February 2000.

A group of our guests from St. Stephen?s College, Delhi University, comprised of 15 persons included 1 male 3 female teachers and 5 boys 6 girl student of History, reached at Lahore by bus on 23 December 2000.
They were comprised of Dr. Upinder Singh (Teacher), David E. U. Baker (Teacher), Bikram Phookum (Teacher), Rahul Govind (Teacher), Navjot Bir Singh (Student Organizer) and students included Fabian, Jyoti Gulati, Renu Gopala Krishnan, Regina Shetali Anthony, Neha Buch, Shivani Kumar, Nandita Sinha, Aditya Sarkar, Anirudh Chaudhary, Anish Vanaik.
They stayed at Youth Hostel. They visited historical places at Lahore, Harapa, Peshawar, Lardkana, Mohenjodaro and Multan.
Click here to see "Exploding Myths about Pakistan" by Jyoti Gulati

A delegation from Miranda House, Delhi University comprised of 13 female student and 3 female teacher of History department arrived Lahore by train on 18th January 2001.
They comprised of Dr. Nonica Datta (Teacher), Dr. Srimanjari (Teacher), Bharati Jagannathan (Teacher), and students Arpitha Verky, Meenakshi Chauhan, Matouleibi S., Shruti Sood, Gunjan Thukral, Nimisha Rana, Aarti Kalia, Anjali Jindal, Martha Kamau, Sonali Sharma, Nimrat Gill, Larini Kamei, Shaili Sinha.
The accommodation arrangements was made by the help of Kinnaird College, Lahore at their Staff guest house. They were intended to visit historical places in Pakistan. So they started their visit from sight seeing as Lahore Museum, Anarkali bazar, Minar-e-Pakistan, Jahangir''s Tomb, Badshahi Mosque, heritages of Harappa, Taxila Museum etc. They met student of Kinnaird College and Peshawar University student Last day ASR organized a meeting at Gulberg Lahore. They went back Delhi on 25th January 2001.
Click here to see "We Shell Come Again" by Saeed Awan
Click here to see Photo Album....

A delegation from College of Vocational Studies, Delhi University, comprised of 8 female teachers paid a visit to Pakistan from 6 to 14 April 2001.
They were Nandini Oberoi, Nina Rao, Ranjana Kaul, Nandini Guha, Shashi Singh, Jayashree Chowdhury, Dr. Mrs. Adarsh Wadhwa, and Meera Nangia.
They were invited by Mrs. Qudsia Kamal from Lahore Grammar School. Purpose of their visit was to interact with Pakistani society, education and culture. They visited historical places, markets, educational institutions and Islamabad, Peshawar and Taxila.
Click here to see "To Pakistan, With Love and Peace in our hearts" by Nina Rao

Peace Activists:
A group of Global Peacemakers Association, Japan paid a visit to Pakistan from 14 February to 18 February 2000. They comprised of 3 women and 2 men. They were Mr. Steven L. Leeper (Leader of the delegation), Ms. Yoshie Ozaki, Ms. Haruko Moritaki, Ms. Masashi Imura.
A father of one women was the victim of Atom bomb and died several years later. They visited Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and met peace activists. They also made demonstration for peace in collaboration with ?Joint Action Committee for Peoples'' Rights? at Lahore Press Club on 15th February and after that hold a Press Conference. Also a dinner hosted by PIPFPD at Lahore Gymkhana Club. They went Islamabad.
Click here to see Photo Album....

Outgoing groups:

Parliamentary Delegation (Pakistan)
The Pakistan-India Peoples'' Forum for Peace and democracy (PIPFPD), Pakistan chapter, has great pleasure in presenting this brief, and obviously partial, media account of Pakistan parliamentarians'' visit to India in May 2003. The reception the Pakistan delegation received during its visit to Amritsar, New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai was an overwhelming demonstration of hospitality, goodwill and commitment to sub-continental peace, and it vindicated PIPFPD''s strong belief that the people on both-sides of the India-Pakistan border wish to live in peace and cooperate with one another for mutual good. No words can fully describe Pakistan PIPFPD''s gratitude to PIPFPD India for maintaining their tradition of fruitful hospitality. We sincerely thank the many eminent figures of India, including former Prime Ministers, senior members of parliament, leaders of political parties, widely respected academics, and peace activists, who found time to meet with the Pakistan delegation. Thanks are due, above all, to the citizens of India who everywhere displayed friendship. We must also thank the members of the Pakistan delegation for undertaking a journey on hot May days and for cheerfully bearing some unavoidable inconveniences. Their enthusiastic response to the call of peace will not be forgotten. This tour of India by Pakistan''s parliamentarians, elected after a three-year suspension of parliamentary life, was part of PIPFPD''s programme to sustain people-to-people contact even while facilities of direct travel were suspended. Efforts to organise exchange visits by parliamentarians were started early this year, much before Mr Vajpayee broke the ice by offering to resume negotiations with Pakistan but there is no gainsaying that the climate of optimism created by Mr Vajpayee''s gesture and the welcome response by Mr. Zafrullah Jamali significantly helped the Pakistan parliamentarians'' visit. PIPFPD welcomes the prospects of dialogue between the two close South Asian neighbours, and hopes the negotiations will be pursued with a determination to succeed. We are also happy that the Pakistan parliamentarians walked across the border at Wagah-Attari and hope that this facility will before long be available to all citizens of India and Pakistan. When that happens the ancient road linking Lahore and New Delhi will truly become the pathway to peace.
Click here to see Photo Album of Pakistani Parliamentary Delegation

National College of Arts, Lahore
A group from various departments from National College of Arts, Lahore was interested to visit in a study trip to India. They comprised of Naila Khan (Teacher), Maria Kareem (Student organizer of the trip), Fatima Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Azam Chaudhry, Saima Yunus Butt, and Parveen Khan.

Objectives of the trip were: To study the traditional forms of architecture (Vastu Shastra, Mughal Architecture, Rajput Places and Havelis),
To visit different schools of architecture and design so as to develop an understanding of their methods of teaching and to interact with their students.
On request from Principal of NCA, the Forum facilitated them for trip to India from 4 August 2001 to 19 August 2001, They had visited Delhi, Agrah, Jaipur, Fatehpur Sikiri, and Ajmir Sharif.
Click here to see "Our Trip to India" by Maria Kareem
Click here to see Photo Album...

Lahore Grammar School, was arranged a student trip to India.

Kinnaird College Lahore, was arranged a student trip to India.

WIPSA (Women?s Initiatives for Peace in South Asia)
A delegation from ?Women?s Initiatives for Peace in South Asia? paid a visit to India by ?Dosti Bus? for Goodwill trip.

IPSIP (India Pakistan Soldiers'' Initiatives for Peace)
A group of retired Armed Forces personals paid a visit to India for promotion of peace.

Conferences for Promotion of Peace
Pakistan-India Peoples'' Solidarity Conference was held at Delhi on 12 Juty 2001 with collaboration of "Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), Association of Peoples of Asia (APA - India Chapter), Pakistan-India Peoples'' Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD - India Chapter), and the Women''s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA - India Chapter). The conference was organized in the eve of the Summit Meeting between General Parvez Musharaf and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpaee. The organizers of the conference not only welcomed the Summit Meeting but would also like to used the occasion to put forward to the two leaders some of the pressing issues confronting the peoples'' of India and Pakistan - issues, which required their active and immediate consideration. All groups and organizations that support democracy, secularism and peace were welcomed to join the Solidarity Conference, A large number of peoples were invited to attend the conference from Pakistan.

Non-Governmental Organizations:
Samina Choonara, is a famous lady. She worked for ?Herald? and ?OUP? as an editor and writer. She is currently working on contract basis with National College of Arts. Lahore on publications for the "Research and Publication Center". She does not belong directly to any NGO but she has worked for some NGOs. The PIPFPD had facilitated him to attend the 5th Joint convention held at Bangalore on 6 to 8th April 2000.

Water Polo Team - LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences)
was arranged a student trip to India.

Keynesian Institute of Management & Sciences (KIMS)
was arranged a student trip to India.

Lahore Grammer School (LGS)
was arranged a student trip to India.