Nepalese activists thank Pakistani govt, civil society for warm welcome

KARACHI: A six-member Nepalese delegation belonging to the ‘Jai Jagat Peace March 2020’ has invited Pakistani peace activists to join over 5,000 peace activists from across the world at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on October 2 when the year-long international march will culminate there. Jagat Bahadur Basnet, the head of the peace march delegation, spoke at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Friday afternoon and thanked Pakistani human rights and peace activists for hosting various activities in Karachi and Hyderabad. “Our team shares its sincere gratitude and thanks to the Pakistan government, CSOs, academics, students, professionals, human rights activists, political parties, media and individuals for their friendly and very kind cooperation and supports for our global peace march,” he said. He thanked the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Karachi Press Club, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Hyderabad Press Club, Sindh Agriculture University, and other organisations in Karachi, Hyderabad and Tando Jam for hosting various activities for them. Basnet said that “Jai Jagat” means “victory of the world”. “It is in line with the concept of Sarvodaya (wellbeing of all) that was put forward by Mahatma Gandhi. Jai Jagat is also “all for the planet”, and it should be a victory for our common humanity and not for one nation or group. Jai Jagat helps us refocus on an inclusive world based on principles of peace, justice, and participatory democracy,” he said. Karamat Ali, the PILER’s executive director, said that the Nepalese members of the delegation would go back to Nepal on Saturday and join the march in Armenia. He said the Global Pace Foot March had commenced in Rajghat in New Delhi, India, in October last year, the year of Gandhi’s 150th Birth anniversary. Led by a group of youths, women, senior social activist, human rights activists and promoters of inclusive growth and participatory democracy, the march will last from October 2, 2019, to October 2, 2020, and will be covering 12,000 kilometres and crossing 10 countries.