Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jul 1: A year after Operation Sindoor, more than 100 prominent personalities from India and Pakistan have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take concrete steps towards restoring peace, dialogue and normal bilateral relations between the two countries.
The appeal, issued by the Centre for Peace and Progress, has been signed by 117 people, including 61 from India and 56 from Pakistan. The signatories urged both governments to end prolonged tensions, stating that hostility between the two nations was affecting opportunities, prosperity and the future of millions of young people.
Indian signatories include National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, RJD MP Manoj Jha and former TMC minister Humayun Kabir. Pakistani signatories include former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, former diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, National Assembly member Isphanyar Bhandara and nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy.
The appeal called for restoring full diplomatic relations, appointing High Commissioners in New Delhi and Islamabad, restarting normal visa services and reopening airspace for commercial flights.
The signatories also sought the reopening of the Attari-Wagah land border for trade and travel, revival of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and other cross-border connectivity initiatives.
“India and Pakistan together are home to nearly one-fifth of humanity. A large proportion of our population is young. The people of both countries deserve a future defined by peace, development, connectivity and cooperation,” the letter stated.
The appeal further urged the two nations to resume comprehensive bilateral dialogue on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, while revisiting the framework discussed during talks between 2004 and 2007.
It also called for confidence-building measures such as demilitarisation, de-escalation, addressing security concerns of both countries, reopening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, facilitating access to Sharada Peeth in Pakistan’s Neelum Valley and easing travel to religious and cultural heritage sites.
The appeal comes amid India’s continued position that “terror and talks cannot coexist” and that improvement in relations with Pakistan depends on an end to cross-border terrorism.
The signatories said the initiative was not an endorsement of any political position but a call to prioritise the welfare and aspirations of people across South Asia.
“We believe that peace, dialogue and cooperation offer the surest path towards a stable, prosperous and secure South Asia,” the appeal stated.