By KUNA,
New Delhi : India Monday asserted that it was committed to defeat the forces of terror and establish peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Jammu and Kashmir has immense potential in horticulture, floriculture, handicrafts, tourism and IT sectors, we are determined to create a peaceful environment and defeat the designs of terror groups,” Indian President Pratibha Patil said while inaugurating the Institute of Kashmir Studies at the Kashmir University at Srinagar today, news agency Press Trust of India reported. Srinagar is the summer capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. “I am aware of the difficulties that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have undergone due to violence and terrorism. However, we are all proud of the resilient people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have demonstrated, over the past few years, their determination to move ahead on the constructive path of peace and progress,” Patil stressed. The Institute of Kashmir Studies was created under a Memorandum of Understanding between South Asian Federation (SAF) and the Kashmir University. SAF is in the process of establishing such institutes in all the eight member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
SAARC comprises India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.