Jammu University VC elected to Pugwash Council

Jammu, Jan 29: Vice-Chancellor of the Jammu University Amitabh Mattoo has been elected to the prestigious International Council of Pugwash, which is the highest decision-making body of the Nobel Peace prize winning NGO, sources said here today.

Representatives from the United States, Europe, China, Japan and Latin America were also elected to the 22-member council, the sources added.

The Pugwash was conferred with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for its efforts to contain the role of nuclear arms in international politics.

Prof Mattoo has played a key role in Kashmir-specific conferences organised recently by the Pugwash at Islamabad, Cairo and Egypt. At the 2006 Islamabad meet, several separatists and leaders of the mainstream parties of Jammu and Kashmir also shared a common platform.

The vice-chancellor was a member of the National Security Advisory Board and the Prime Minister's task force on Global Strategic Developments. He was also Professor of Disarmament Studies in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

UNI