LAHORE - Eminent Indian journalist and peace activist Kuldip Nayar has urged the people of Pakistan and India to join their hands to fight out the menace of terrorism to promote business and trade in the region. Kuldip Nayar, who was heading a 13-member delegation, was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday. The other members of the delegation include: Mahesh Bhatt, Ramesh Yadev, Kamla Bhasin, Jatin Desai, Swami Agnivesh, Sandeep Panday, Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Salman Haider, Dr Hanif Lakdawala, Mohammad Idrees Tabassum and Ms Seema. LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali, Senior Vice President Tahir Javaid Malik, Vice President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh and former LCCI President Mian Shafqat Ali and former Senior Vice President Sohail Lashari also spoke on the occasion. Head of the Human Rights Commission Asma Jahangir was also with the Indian delegation. Nayar said Indians were angry following the Mumbai attacks, however, a large number of civil society representatives are still in favour of peaceful co-existence with Pakistan. "It is not the question of one country. The whole region is suffering from terror acts." He made it clear that without due participation of trade and industry, peace could not be restored. "Both the country's businessmen would have to come into the mainstream of this peace movement in the larger interests of the region." He said all the 13 delegates belong to six Indian States and hopefully the visit would prove the beginning of deeper relations with Pakistan. "We are peace-makers and would overcome all the difficulties coming in the way very soon," Nayar added. Swami Agnivesh, speaking on the occasion, urged the participants to come up and play their respective roles for ending poverty from 'this part of the world'. He said it was the civil society who could do the needful in true sense of the word. LCCI President Mian Muzaffar said the business community was committed to have a serious, sustainable and constructive engagement with India and "desires an early and full normalisation of relations on the basis of mutual non-interference, peaceful coexistence and respect for each other." He said the relations between the two countries had deteriorated to a deadlock following the Mumbai assaults. He said the business community condemned indisputably and unconditionally the November 26 terrorist attack in Mumbai as a most wicked crime against innocent people. He further said the perpetrators of Mumbai bloodshed wanted to stimulate conflict between the two countries and "prevent Pakistan from securing peace in its north-western regions." He said, "Coming to our trade relations, we observe that in last few years our bilateral trade relations saw increasing trends with balance of trade remained in favour of India." In recent times, India's official bilateral trade with Pakistan was estimated to be $2 billion - but the unofficial trade via third countries was many times higher, he added. The LCCI president said, "Though all this shows that both the sides need to expand the economic base and increase trade and investment but unfortunately the political situation between the two countries is still not conducive to trade." The biggest drawback in the composite dialogue was perhaps the lack of success in the territorial disputes around Kashmir, Siachen and above all the Indian violation towards Indus Water Treaty, which has caused an extensive damage to Pakistan's agriculture. If these problems get resolved, the relations between the two countries are likely to meet normalisation. LCCI Senior Vice President Tahir Javaid and Vice President Irfan Iqbal said that while the businessmen of the two countries were interested to gain from the opportunities of trade, but the unfriendly visa policy of the two countries had been hampering the businessmen from both sides to visit each other's market and negotiate trade deals.