Since 1947 Pakistan and India have been the fiercest of enemies having a discord on the splitting up of the Indian Subcontinent (Indo Pak). Now many people in the modern times are fed up of the wars taking place and after the historic agreement on September 8, many people have come forward to bring about a change in further relationships between the people of India and Pakistan.
A petition movement has been started on Change.org which addresses many issues. Read the letter below and checkout the petition so you can participate for better relations between India and Pakistan.
Greetings,
We, the people of India and Pakistan, and of Indian and Pakistani descent living in other countries, demand the right to visit our families across the border in ‘the other country’ – to see our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and, in some cases, our children. We demand the right to travel in the countries of our ancestors, to walk along coastlines and roads that represent our collective past, to seek and spread harmony across a subcontinent not divided by politics and propaganda. We welcome the new relaxed visa regime that has made the India-Pakistan border seem less daunting for ordinary people, but we urge the governments to “stay the course” and move towards lifting the remaining restrictions.
• Allow long-term visas, especially to members of divided families and other applicants who meet the security and visa criteria;
• Allow Indian and Pakistani cross-border spouses the same rights and privileges as spouses of other countries married to Indian or Pakistani citizens, or at least resident visas;
• Allow visa on arrival to members of divided families, particularly senior citizens and children;
• Allow tourist visas between India and Pakistan not just for groups with approved tour operators but also individuals;
• Make police reporting on arrival and departure the exception rather than the rule;
• Do away with the requirement of entry and exit from the same point, using the same mode of transport also for those entering by foot/road at Wagah/Attari;
• Allow visas to be valid for the entire country (subject to reasonable restrictions) rather than a few cities;
• Re-open the Mumbai and Karachi consulates, and consider opening more consulates in major cities;
• Make student visas freely available;
• Curtail unnecessary paperwork (India’s requirement of a sponsorship certificate for Pakistani applicants is particularly cumbersome);
• Ease visa restrictions for citizens of other countries who are of Indian or Pakistani descent, dual nationals, or expatriates from each other’s countries (eg. India demands that Pakistani dual nationals give up their Pakistani passport in order to travel on the passport of the adopted country).
In addition, we urge the governments to do away with restrictions that are completely outdated in today’s cyber world, and to:
• Allow more than two journalists each to be based in each other’s countries;
• Undo the ban on cell-phone roaming;
• Undo the ban on cross-border media, television and publications.
We reiterate that the authorities must refrain from trying to control the movements of their people, when their minds are free. It is mutual trust and genuine collaboration that will enable us to break from the past and repudiate the legacy of hatred and animosity. We can truly progress when ideas and art, business and tourism, and collaboration in the fields of health, sustainability and poverty alleviation are allowed to flourish and flow. Only then can our people and countries reach their full potential.
[Your name]
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