The US House International Relations Committee has considered a resolution praising India and Pakistan for the peace moves they have been making over the last few years and urging them to continue.

House Resolution 272, introduced by Texas Democrat Shiela Jackson-Lee and co-sponsored by 26 other legislators and referred to the International Relations Committee on May 11, was Wednesday considered at a mark-up hearing among a host of other resolutions by the full committee.

Markups provide members on a committee an opportunity to change parts of a bill prior to its consideration by the full House, but it is doubtful any changes were made to the resolution and in all probability, it is being referred back to the House for passing since it is not controversial.

The India-Pakistan Peace Resolution as it is named, recognizes the "historic steps India and Pakistan have taken toward achieving bilateral peace".

Tracing the history of rapprochement between India-Pakistan, the resolution notes that the first formal talks began in February 2004. On to June 2004 when the two countries reaffirmed their unilateral moratorium on nuclear weapons tests and set up a hotline to alert each other to potential nuclear risks, and to September 2004 when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf met for talks in New York on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly. At the conclusion of these talks they issued a joint statement in which they agreed that on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir "possible options for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the issue should be explored".
 
In April 2005 India and Pakistan launched a landmark bus service across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir - the `Peace Bus' allowing families divided by the Line of Control to be reunited for the first time in nearly 60 years. The resolution notes and mentions the April 18, 2005, "historic three day summit" in India when the two leaders "held meaningful talks on all issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir", and came to a series of agreements to boost trade and cross-border travel. It quotes the words used by both South Asian governments to bring to conclusion their talks and to start the frequent bus service.

The resolution:
(1) congratulates India and Pakistan on taking monumental steps toward achieving a comprehensive peace agreement;
(2) applauds Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf for their leadership in bringing their two nations together; and
(3) calls upon both India and Pakistan to continue down this path of peace so that their children may realize a harmonious future.

Among the co-sponsors of the resolution are: Representative Joe Barton, Republican from Texas, Representative Dan Burton, Republican from Indiana, and Representative Joseph Crowley, Democrat from New York.

--Indo-Asian News Service