Jaatey jaatey... "We need Pakistan and India to play more cricket (laughs) - that is we need more healthy competition. If both teams have mixed Indian and Pakistani players that will be so good... My father was very eager that I visit Pakistan, he said it's a great opportunity and I should go. I was a little apprehensive and all my friends were asking me if I was sure about this visit, but I am so glad I listened to my father. I would love to come again for a longer period. We are neighbours, part of one region, so we need to think for the betterment of this region. We are closer and interlinked than we think. We speak the same language, you call it Urdu we call it Hindi, and in both countries English is a major language that is used to communicate"

- Parth Singhania, chartered accountancy student, Ryan International School, Haryana.

"I loved it here. I never had any second thoughts and I am glad I didn't. To tell the truth I don't feel as if I ever left my country or family, it is almost like I am at home. The people are so friendly. I would like to return again and to also see my family's ancestral city, Sargodha"

- Sachi Bhuttani, 11th grade, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.

"I grew up thinking that Pakistan was not our friend. Although my views changed as I got older, even then I was a little apprehensive. But I am so glad to have come here and my views have changed (even more). This trip has helped me to understand that we as neighbours have so much in common that it would be so easy and take so little effort for us to be on betters terms. What little I have seen of Pakistan and its people, I have a very positive image. I would love to come back. I wish that we have more chances to interact with one another at all levels, and that we can also resolve serious issues like Kashmir in an amenable way"

- Karan Raghav, finance student, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi.

"We have visitors from Pakistan at our house all time, so I was very excited to come here. In fact I have met such great people and made such great friends that I feel very sad (breaks down here) to leave them. I would love to be able to come back and meet these friends and make more friends"

- Tanima Narang, 11th grade, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi (she is also a national level badminton player and ikebana artist).

"I never ever thought that I would come to Pakistan, but I am so glad I did. I was talking to friends and we were saying it will be a great experience, and I am glad we were right. The efforts that are being done to bring the people of the two countries together under the Aman ki Asha are great. I wish it succeeds to bring us even closer"

- Bhavya Mahajan, 11th grade, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.


Friday, December 30, 2011

Celebrating Vaisakhi in Pakistan Photos by Saiyna Bashir

The annual festival of Vaisakhi or Baisakhi is a centuries old spring celebration observed by farmers across northern India, particu .....more

BriefS Little Pooja returns safely
AKudos to the border forces in India and Pakistan for starting to take a more humane view of human mistakes. On Sunday, March 24, the Indi .....more

Testimonials If war is not the answer, peace has to be

"Pakistan-India relations have not been very pleasant for the last 65 years for various reasons and biases. Both countrie .....more

India, Pakistan: Let academics meet A Pakistani scholar writes about the shared bonds with Indian colleagues whom he met in a third country
By Riaz Ahmed Shaikh

It was at a seminar in Thailand, t .....more

Hope amid a hostile environment The daughter of a former cross-border prisoner reflects on her own family's experiences over two decades
By Amna Chishty
Last year my father Dr. Khalil Chishty's 20 .....more

That India Pakistan visa thing By Jehan Ara
Whether you are a Pakistani applying for an Indian visa or an Indian applying for a Pakistani visa, the road ahead is challenging. I have been fort .....more

TESTIMONIALS

We are two wings of a single bird

"'India and Pakistan, why all the rivalry? Before 1947, weren't we just known as "The Subcontinent"? We are one, .....more

Shatrughan Sinha refuses to hate Pakistan

"Let's talk peace," says Shatrughan Sinha who refuses to hate Pakistan
By Subhash K Jha

You've just returned from attending a wedding in Islamab .....more

Sign the Milne Do petition! To sign the Aman ki Asha Milne Do petition urging governments to allow greater people-to-people contact please go to this direct link: more

Zardari ratifies Pak-India visa accord ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has endorsed the liberalized visa agreement between Pakistan and India, Geo News reported Tuesday.

The two nations had alread .....more

Indian Parliamentary delegation in Pakistan for SAARC meet ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today sought the support of SAARC countries in fighting the menace of illegal drugs, that were being used as a "weapon of war", as parliamentary deleg .....more

Liberalized visa accord with India approved by Pakistan IANS

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has approved a liberalized visa agreement with India that will relax curbs on issuing travel documents to traders, elderly people, touris .....more