People's Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday welcomed the peace initiative between India and Pakistan launched recently by leading media houses from the two countries,saying it came as a much needed shot in the arm of forces of sanity. "It (the peace initiative by Times of India and Pakistan's Jang group) couldn't have come at a more appropriate time as hawkish elements in the two countries seemed to have vowed to keep the two nuclear armed neighbours at daggers drawn," PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said in a statement here. The civil society of both the countries which shared common ideals of understanding and reconciliation must assert itself to bring about a change in the atmosphere and in lives of our people,he said. Mufti expressed hope that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would display political will in neutralising the voices of discord and leading subcontinent back to the peace process. He said Pakistan had launched a full scale war on terror and our country needed to extend a helping hand to the neighbouring country to make south Asia more secure. Stressing the need for the civil society in J&K to speak up effectively in support of the initiative taken by the media groups,Mufti said no one has greater stakes in peace than the residents of our state.
