Pugwash goes to Colombo

After being shunted around and then finally shown the door, Pugwash has decided to hold its conference on Kashmir in Colombo in the third week of July. A Track II effort that has participants from both sides of Kashmir, including diplomats who have closely dealt with the subject, Pugwash was keen to hold its conference this year in India. The first choice for the venue was Kochi. But the meet had to be called off after the Government said it was too close to the PM’s Rountable on Kashmir. The organisers advanced it by a month and decided to hold it in Mumbai. But the Government stepped in to say it could not give visas to Pakistani delegates since India does not allow international organisations to hold conferences on Kashmir in the country. The decision was then taken to travel to Colombo. Interestingly, several Indian officials plan to participate in conference there.