A special prayer for «the Muslim brethren of Kashmir» was organized in recent days by the Ecumenical Solidarity Committee Lahore. Religious leaders from the Catholic, Church of Pakistan, Anglican Church, Presbyterian Church, and the Salvation Army participated in this prayer service. The prayer was accompanied by an appeal for peace for the tormented region of Kashmir, still at the center of strong tensions between India and Pakistan, according to Fides News Agency.
The meeting had an interreligious nature, given the participation of Pakistani Muslim leaders invited for the occasion, and was led by the Franciscan, Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap, secretary of the ecumenical and interreligious dialogue Commission in the Episcopal Conference of Pakistan.
The Religious leaders showed their determination to support «the Kashmiri Brethren» in their movement for dignity, justice, and freedom, recalling all those who, from that region, have contributed to the independence of Pakistan. The assembly prayed for peace and harmony between Pakistan and India and insisted by launching a heartfelt appeal so that «the political controversy between India and Pakistan is resolved through dialogue, without resorting to weapons and with the prospect of real and lasting peace».
At the end of the meeting, all leaders symbolically released Doves in the air with a hope «that this message of Peace would be carried to the Indo-Pakistani borders and encourage reconciliation».
