March 16, 2012: Peace & Harmony News from S. Asia
Pritam Rohila
ASSOCIATION FOR COMMUNAL HARMONY IN ASIA (ACHA)
www.asiapeace.org & www.indiapakistanpeace.org
March 16, 2012: Peace & Harmony News from S. Asia
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IndiaPakistanPeaceDay
&
http://groups.google.com/group/peace--harmony-news-from-south-asia
IN THIS ISSUE
*Abida Parveen enthralls audience at Delhi Sufi Festival, PTI, March 14, 2012
*India, Pakistan 'half way there' in easing visa regime, SAMN, March 14, 2012
*Bangladesh plans more consulates in India, SAMN, March 14, 2012
*Region's parliamentarians call for free trade, SAMN, March 15, 2012
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*Abida Parveen enthralls audience at Delhi Sufi Festival, PTI, March 14, 2012
http://www.amankiasha.com/detail_news.asp?id=668
The ruins of Humayun Tomb resonated with songs in praise of the legendary poets
and saints rendered in the throaty voice of Pakistani Sufi singer Abida Parveen
at the end of the Jahan-e-Khusrau World Sufi Music Festival the Sufi music
festival that concluded in New Delhi on March 3, 2012. "In Sufism there
are no barriers, mine or yours, old and new. It belongs to all and connects
hearts and souls. Its power unites the singer and listener in a divine
communion with the creator," says Parveen who has been participating in
the festival since its inception nine years ago…
*India, Pakistan 'half way there' in easing visa regime, SAMN, March 14, 2012
http://southasianmedia.net/Test21/DetailPage.aspx?StoryID=65238
India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal has said that efforts are underway to liberalise the 1974 visa regime with Pakistan, especially for the business community. “Both sides are working towards a consensus and are half-way there,” Sabharwal told journalists on Tuesday during a visit to the historical Sadh Bello temple in Sukkur…
*Bangladesh plans more consulates in India, SAMN, March 14, 2012
http://southasianmedia.net/Test21/DetailPage.aspx?StoryID=65250
Bangladesh has decided to open more consulates in India’s northeast region to improve trade, people-to-people contacts and cultural ties, an official says. Bangladesh has one consulate in the northeastern region in Tripura’s capital Agartala. “The Agartala office would be upgraded as an assistant high commission and a new deputy high commission would be set up in (Assam’s main city of) Guwahati,” a Bangladesh government official told IANS. He said: “If Bangladesh opens a new mission in India or upgrades an existing office, the Indian government would also take reciprocal steps in Bangladesh…
*Region's parliamentarians call for free trade, SAMN, March 15, 2012
http://southasianmedia.net/Test21/DetailPage.aspx?StoryID=65321
The fourth Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Asia Regional Conference has called upon member countries in the region to take bold steps to remove stumbling blocks that prevent South Asia from becoming a ‘free trade region’….After the inaugural session, nine candles representing each member of the CPA Asia Region Sindh branch — Pakistan Senate and National Assembly, the provincial assemblies of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the parliaments of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives — were lit…
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EXPLANATION/DISCLIMER: The above is a selection of news stories pertaining to South Asian governments, civil society organizations and individuals working together on projects of mutual benefit including peace and communal harmony, and those relating to attempts to improve the condition of South Asian peoples, especially women and children. ACHA does not approve of or subscribe to any "disharmonizing language" (including terms such as POK or IOK) used in these items selected from various publications. Readers may exercise their linguistic judgment and ignore any biased language.