Having spent their careers locked in confrontation against each other, veteran soldiers from the Indian & Pakistani armed forces kicked off their annual peace initiative in the city with a deliberation calling for a 'Paradigm shift in India-Pakistan relations'. Organised under the aegis of India Pakistan Soldier's Initiative (IPSI), the event saw the Indian chapter hosting an eighteen member strong delegation of retired Pakistan armed force members and their families.

Congress Member of Parliament (MP) and IPSI India Chairperson Mani Shankar Aiyar, who was born in Lahore and also served there spoke at the occasion. "Unlike the previous generations of our citizens, both our populations today have far less of collective memory of India and Pakistan being a part of one dominion. This, in my understanding is a conducive climate for peace. However from what I have observed, Indians in their thoughts remain frozen in the psyche of the 60s but in comparison, Pakistanis have moved on to 21st century." Several other speakers, including Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, MLA of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly also spoke.   

Leader of Pakistani delegation, Ambassador Lt. Gen (retd) Humayun Bangash who was a Corps Commander of the Lahore Corps stressed on the need to bust myths and clarify perceptions. "I have lost my brother, who was the police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to a suicide terrorist strike. And there are many like me in my country who are all victims. Not every terror attack in India is planned by the Pakistan Army."

Leader of Pakistani delegation, Ambassador Lt. Gen (retd) Humayun Bangash stressed on the need to bust myths and clarify perceptions.

From the Indian side, Maj General (retd) MA Naik, who retired in 2011 as an Additional Director General in the Army HQs hit the nail on its head when he said, "Such a forum is a very important one. After having spent 39 years in the army where we planned on check-mating the other side, after retiring when I got this opportunity it felt very odd. But come to think of it who can understand the value of peace better than those like us who have lost friends, relatives and colleagues to violence."

The combined delegation will be meeting key functionaries of the government and hold more such discussions before deciding on agenda points to pursue with their individual governments. Said a speaker, "We are, what you can call, track II or III level diplomacy and believe in bringing our governments to the talking table so that both countries can move forward."

These talks had suffered a jolt with getting visas becoming increasingly difficult in the post-26/11 scenario however things are changing and more such interactions are being planned, it was informed.