Baba Amte to embark on peace mission to Pakistan

Baba Amte to embark on peace mission to Pakistan
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NAGPUR, OCT 15: Octogenarian social activist Baba Amte, recipient of Asia's prestigious Raman Magsaysay Award, is all set to embark on a peace mission to Pakistan shortly in an attempt to restore peace across the border and bring the two countries closer.

Speaking at his sprawling complex `Anandvan', about 130 kms from here near Chandrapur, a home for leprosy patients, Amte said on Saturday that "If Germans can break the strong Berlin wall which kept them divided and had never dreamt of reunification, why can't India and Pakistan come closer?"

Amte, described as an "ageless activist" is indeed roaring to cross the Wagha border in his especially fabricated Tata ambulance with his wife Sathana Tai and personal staff along with few hundred countrymen drawn from various parts of the country on bicycles.

"Nearly 700 persons from various walks of life have already applied for visas to accompany me in my mission," Amte revealed.

Winner of this years' international Gandhi peace prize, a frail looking Amte said this would be identical to his earlier mission "Bharat Jodo" when the Punjab was burning in eighties.

Giving details of his proposed itinerary, Amte said if everything goes as scheduled, he may celebrate his 87th birthday on Pakistan soil on December 26. He would start from Delhi and travel via Chandigarh, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar to enter Pakistan via Wagha border and reach Lahore, which is just 16 kms from the international line.

"I wish to meet Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf to remind him that of the two years which he had set deadline for restoring democracy in his country, one year has already elapsed," Amte said.

Amte, who has returned recently from the agitation site near Narmada dam of Sardar Sarovar Project in Gujarat, said it was pathetic to note that curfew was being imposed in Ahmedabad more frequently than it was clamped in Punjab during Khalistan movement.

His enthusiasm to visit Pakistan on "peace mission" got a shot in the arm when a 30-member Pakistani group arrived in Anandvan to participate in 10th South Asia Friendship (SAF) camp being held there.

The group members told him that "we have Laloo Yadavs, Jayalalithas and Bal Thackerays, but not Baba Amte. People of Pakistan will certainly extend you a warm reception on your arrival." The group led by Faislabad's W S Law College principal Mian Rashid Misbah also assured him of the same.

"If indeed even few persons receive me at Wagha Border, my peace mission will be a success," Amte felt.

Later, Rashid in an informal chat said "people of both the countries want peace and harmony. If India and Pakistan improve their relations and relaxes certain restrictions, the 20 crore Muslim population in India would be greatly benefitted due to enhanced opportunities to Muslim business community here."