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Indians, Paks protest in US to bring Vajpayee, Sharief on road to peace

Over 100 Indian and Pakistani academics and professionals met at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and protested against India's nuclear explosions and Pakistan's Ghauri missile test.

On Friday night, the Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, a Cambridge-based activist group, circulated a petition protesting the tests.

Acknowledging the popularity of the tests in India, Dr Abha Sur of Harvard University differentiated between the questionable motivations of the Indian government and the reason for the people's support to the action.

The support, he said, is intrinsically linked to the refusal of the nuclear weapons states to even negotiate the possibility of eliminating their stockpile of nuclear arsenals. The actions of the Indian government, however, are highly irresponsible and adventurous as they reinforce the politics of terror in the region, she added.

''Unfortunately, the pervasive images of irrational and bitter enmity between India and Pakistan obscures the long-standing and continuing bonds of culture and community among the people of the region,'' noted Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy, an eminent Pakistani physicist.

The petition expresses ''deep regret'' at the nuclear explosions, the ongoing escalation of missile tests by both Pakistan and India, and the general militarisation of the region. Although the two governments had sought to justify the nuclear arms build-up in the name of national security, their actions served to only heighten tensions and increase hostilities in the region, it said.

It was tragic that valuable resources which should be used for the betterment of people are being squandered on weapons of mass destruction, it said.

''The jingoist rhetoric of our leaders notwithstanding, we are determined to work together towards peace and harmony in the region,'' the petition added.

The signatories to the petition were from various US universities.

UNI

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