[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 32 Introduced in House (IH)]







111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 32

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2009

Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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 4 major world religions;
Whereas the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was created on August 14, 1947 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 on November 23, 2003, the Pakistani Prime Minister M.Z. Jamali announced 
        a unilateral cease-fire by Pakistani forces at the Line of Control to 
        begin on the final night of Ramadan, November 26th;
Whereas the cease-fire begun on November 26, 2003, was expanded to apply to the 
        entire shared border and has since been made permanent;
Whereas in February 2004 India and Pakistan began their first formal talks in 
        nearly 3 years, paving 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 India's 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, 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 3-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'';
Whereas at the conclusion of the talks Prime Minister Singh and President 
        Musharraf declared in their joint statement that ``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'';
Whereas Pakistan and India launched a second bus service across the Line of 
        Control in Kashmir on June 20, 2006;
Whereas on June 30, 2006, India and Pakistan exchanged 56 civilian prisoners, 
        including 38 Pakistanis and 19 Indians; and
Whereas on September 16, 2006, India's Prime Minister Singh and Pakistan's 
        President Musharraf met and issued a joint statement which renewed their 
        commitment to the peace process, condemned all acts of terrorism 
        including the recent Mumbai bombings, and agreed to continue their joint 
        search for mutually acceptable options for a peaceful negotiated 
        settlement of all issues between India and Pakistan, including the issue 
        of Jammu and Kashmir: 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>