Cardinal Oswald Gracias has called for a full and definitive agreement between India and Pakistan for lasting peace following the latest clashed involving the two nations. Source: UCA News.
“It is time to put an end to ancient resentments,” Cardinal Gracias told the Vatican’s Fides news agency.
“Ours is a heartfelt appeal for peace in Kashmir. We hope for a full and definitive agreement, which would be important not only for India and Pakistan but for peace in the world,” the retired archbishop of Bombay (Mumbai) said.
India and Pakistan agreed a ceasefire on May 10 following four days of retaliatory attacks.
The conflict was triggered by a terrorist attack in the disputed Kashmir region on April 22 that left 26 civilians dead, mostly Indian tourists.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for harbouring terrorist groups and orchestrating the attack, which Pakistan denied.
The resulting conflict between the nuclear-armed rivals left about 70 people dead.
Muslim-majority Kashmir became part of India following an agreement between its Hindu maharaja and the Indian government after the British partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.
Both India and Pakistan claim the territory in full and have fought two wars over the region. It is now divided into Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered territories separated by what is known as the Line of Control.
Pope Leo XIV welcomed the ceasefire on May 11 and hoped that “a lasting accord may soon be reached.”
Cardinal Gracias echoed the call and said that “it is time for peace.”
He said Pakistan and India share a common heritage.
“We are brothers – same culture, traditions, thoughts, and feelings,” he said. “All the more reason to sit down face to face and try to address, through dialogue, the knot of the Kashmir region, which has caused us suffering since the time of independence.”
He warned about the two nuclear-armed nations descending into prolonged conflict, saying such a war could have devastating effects on the world.
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Indian cardinal appeals for lasting peace between India, Pakistan (UCA News)
