[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 272 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 272

  Recognizing the historic steps India and Pakistan have taken toward 
                       achieving bilateral peace.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2005

   Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas (for herself, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. 
Lantos, Ms. Berkley, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. 
  Weldon of Florida, Mr. Barton of Texas, Ms. Norton, Mr. Hastings of 
  Florida, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Ms. Lee, Mr. Al 
Green of Texas, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Meeks of New York, 
  Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Stupak, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. 
   Jefferson, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Serrano, and Mr. 
 Payne) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the historic steps India and Pakistan have taken toward 
                       achieving bilateral peace.

Whereas the Republic of India achieved its independence from the British Empire 
        on August 15, 1947, is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, 
        and has given birth to four major world religions;
Whereas on August 14, 1947, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was created and is 
        home to many of the significant sites of the 4,500-year old Indus Valley 
        Civilization;
Whereas in April 2003 former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee offered 
        the ``hand of friendship'' to Pakistan in a landmark address made in the 
        State of Jammu and Kashmir;
Whereas in February 2004 India and Pakistan began their first formal talks in 
        nearly three years, the talks held in Islamabad, Pakistan, paved the way 
        for full peace talks;
Whereas in June 2004 India and Pakistan reaffirmed their unilateral moratorium 
        on nuclear weapons tests and set up a hotline to alert each other to 
        potential nuclear risks;
Whereas in September 2004 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's 
        President Pervez Musharraf met for talks in New York on the occasion of 
        the United Nations General Assembly and at the conclusion of these talks 
        they issued a joint statement in which they agreed that on the issue of 
        Jammu and Kashmir ``possible options for a peaceful, negotiated 
        settlement of the issue should be explored'';
Whereas in April 2005 India and Pakistan launched a landmark bus service across 
        the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, the ``peace bus'' allowing 
        families divided by the Line of Control to be reunited for the first 
        time in nearly 60 years;
Whereas on April 18, 2005, India and Pakistan concluded a historic three day 
        summit in India in which Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf 
        held meaningful talks on all issues, including the issue of Jammu and 
        Kashmir, and came to a series of agreements to boost trade and cross-
        border travel;
Whereas ``in this spirit the two leaders addressed the issue of Jammu and 
        Kashmir and agreed to continue these discussions in a sincere and 
        purposeful and forward looking manner for a final settlement'' and 
        ``they were satisfied with the discussions and expressed their 
        determination to work together to carry forward the process and to bring 
        the benefit of peace to their people'' as stated by the joint statement 
        signed by Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf;
Whereas both leaders ``condemned attempts to disrupt the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad 
        bus service and welcomed its successful operationalisation'' and 
        ``pledged that they would not allow terrorism to impede the peace 
        process'';
Whereas both leaders ``decided to increase the frequency of the bus service and 
        also decided that trucks would be allowed to use this route to promote 
        trade'' and ``also agreed to operationalise additional routes including 
        that between Poonch and Rawalakot'' and ``look forward to early start of 
        the bus service between Amritsar and Lahore and to religious places such 
        as Nankana Sahib'' and ``agreed to re-establish the Khokhrapar-Munnabao 
        route by 1st January 2006''; and
Whereas at the conclusion of the most recent talks Prime Minister Singh and 
        President Musharraf declared in their joint statement that they were 
        ``conscious of the historic opportunity created by the improved 
        environment in relations and the overwhelming desire of the peoples of 
        the two countries for durable peace and recognizing their responsibility 
        to continue to move forward towards that objective, the two leaders had 
        substantive talks on all issues'' and ``they determined that the peace 
        process was now irreversible'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``India-Pakistan Peace 
Resolution''.

SEC. 2. RECOGNIZING INDIA AND PAKISTAN.

    The House of Representatives--
            (1) congratulates India and Pakistan on taking monumental 
        steps toward achieving a comprehensive peace agreement;
            (2) applauds Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf 
        for their leadership in bringing their two nations together; 
        and
            (3) calls upon both India and Pakistan to continue down 
        this path of peace so that their children may realize a 
        harmonious future.
                                 <all>