Church of Pakistan welcomes media initiative to promote Indo-Pak peace

(January 4, 2010) The Church of Pakistan has hailed the joint initiative of two leading media groups in India and Pakistan to promote peace amidst strained diplomatic relations and rising tension between the two nations. Bishop Samuel Robert Azariah, the Moderator of the Church of Pakistan, a protestant group, welcomed the joint peace initiative of the Times of India and Jang group in Pakistan, to band together people of both the nations and foster Indo-Pak dialogue. The initiative, titled Aman Ki Asha, promises to be a revolutionary collaboration, which through "debates, discussions and the telling of stories" vies to find compromise and adjustment, on matters that have haunted relations between the two neighbours over 60 years. Terming the initiative as the biggest gift of 2010 to the people of both the nations, Bishop Azariah said it reflected the desire of over 1.5 billion human beings living in Pakistan and India. He encouraged the political leaders of India and Pakistan to support the initiative and use their power and position for building peace and harmony. The two nuclear-armed neighbours have a long and complicated history with regular skirmishes since the partition in 1947. Last year's Mumbai terror strikes had evidently pushed the two nations on the brink of another war despite four already fought.