Peace hopes on horizon

Continued hostility between India and Pakistan left many relatives in East Lancashire fearing the worst as both countries remained at deadlock.

As recent as last week the British Government urged all British nationals to leave the two countries as war looked inevitable.

India has since lifted all of its restrictions placed on Pakistani aircraft and airlines to overfly Indian territory. A meaningful relationship between the two countries though seems very far away.

US officials remain optimistic that a peaceful solution to the crisis can be secured in the near future without the need for for war.

It was believed the Indian government would restore its ambassador to Pakistan and withdraw five warships from the Arabian Sea.

This has yet to happen. India says it is still waiting to see if infiltrations by Islamic militants across the frontier have stopped.

Last week, US government officials told the Indian government that Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf had ordered his forces to halt such crossings.

However, a million troops from both sides remain on standby in the disputed territory and although the local community were worried of the consequences of war the majority supported the need to remain calm.

Mumtaz Chifhty, a British Kashmiri, is president of Bolton's Kashmiri Worker and Welfare Union.

He is worried because he has family, including brothers and sisters, who live just 40 miles outside the state in the town of Kotli in Pakistan.

"I have spoken to a lot of people in Bolton and everyone is worried," he said. "Innocent people are already being killed and we fear a lot of people who live near the border will suffer."

Mr Chifhty is concerned that fighting could damage the Mangla Dam, one of the biggest in the world, which could affect his relatives who live nearby.

He also said that although there were tensions in Pakistan and India, he was happy there would be no trouble between the two communities in Bolton.

"We all know there is no need to break the peace here," he said.

The sentiment was endorsed by Sudhirbhai Merai, a representative on the Bolton Hindu Forum.

He said, "There is nothing we can do to solve the problems in Kashmir. All we can do is to continue to live happily together in Bolton and tackle local issues that affect us here."

Representatives from Preston's religious institutions held a meeting aimed at setting up a Faith Forum to bring Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and other religious groups together.

Indian-born Yousuf Motala, principal regeneration officer at Preston City Council, has played a part in interfaith discussions as chairman of Forward North West -- a group which represents black and ethnic minorities across the region.

Mr Motala said: "We need to tackle these problems, there is enough discrimination out there so by joining together we can have a collective voice.

"We are looking to work closely with the Muslim and Hindu communities to tackle problems such as domestic violence, street crime and child abuse.

"A lot of Preston people are concerned at the moment because of the tension between India and Pakistan, many have relatives in Gujarat and Karachi, like myself, a lot of the time it is harmonious, but the recent extremism and politics has unnerved many people."

Mr Motala, 40, was born in Gujarat, India, and moved to Karachi in Pakistan with his parents in the 1950s when trouble broke out between the two neighbouring countries.

He spent a little time in Karachi, where his brothers and sisters were born, before moving to Preston in his pre-school years. He is now married to Karachi-born Fatima and the couple have three children.

"I speak Urdu and Gujarat and I'm a Muslim but I get along well with everyone," said Mr Motala. "Preston is a great place to live and I've spent most of my life here."

Mr Motala is friends with Ishwer Tailor, president of the Gujarat Hindu Society. Mr Tailor said, "There is a necessity for a local interfaith forum, we want to create a dynamic programme which will include all faiths, to work as a local strategic partnership and make a difference."

Mr Tailor also added how an Indian pilgrimage planned for later this month had been cancelled and a second trip put on hold indefinitely.

He added, "People who have gone there to visit loved ones particularly old relatives will be reluctant to leave as they only spend a short time there, they won't want to rush home.

"I advise people to use their judgement, we had planned a pilgrimage to India in June but we have cancelled it and the one scheduled for December is on hold."

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has promised that Britain was fully engaged with the Americans and the United Nations in trying to find a solution.

He said, "We have a very large Asian population in East Lancashire -- 30,000 in Blackburn split 50/50 between India and Pakistan.

Many of the people from Pakistan come from Mirpur on the western edge of Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir.

"These people are obviously all very concerned about what is happening. I know these communities well and that has obviously been very helpful when dealing with Kashmir as Foreign Secretary"

Mr Straw repeated his advice to Asian and other British citizens not to go to the area while the tension was so high but said there were signs of improvement.