NEW DELHI: Over 200 concerned citizens of Indian and Pakistani have called for peace, insisting on the need for a ‘un-interrupted and un-interruptible’ dialogue to resolve all issues while maintaining peace and civilised bilateral relations.

The list includes academics, physicists, journalists, writers, artists, musicians, activists and others from both countries.

The statement reads:

“In the 70 years since Independence and partition, the people of India and Pakistan have seen too many conflicts and the loss of many valuable lives. Enough of the distrust and tensions. Those who suffer particularly are ordinary people denied visas and those in the conflict zones, especially women and children as well as fishermen who get routinely rounded up and arrested for violating the maritime boundary.

We condemn all forms of violence regardless of its objectives.

Deeply concerned at the current rise in animosity and antagonism between India and Pakistan, we urge both governments and their security establishments to take all steps possible towards improving relations.

We note that whenever it seems that relations might improve, some form of disruption takes place ranging from jingoistic statements to militant attacks. The traditional response to such disruptions only strengthens those who want continued tensions between our two countries.

We move this Resolution towards a peaceful subcontinent and make the following demands to the governments of India and Pakistan, urging them to:

1. Develop an institutionalised framework to ensure that continuous and uninterrupted talks between India and Pakistan take place regularly no matter what. Make dialogue un-interrupted and un-interruptible.

2. Ensure that political leaders, diplomats and civil servants from both countries conduct talks on the side-lines of all international and multilateral forums.

3. Recognise that the Kashmir dispute above all concerns the lives and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, and work to resolve it through uninterrupted dialogue between all concerned parties.

4. Implement the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.

5. Renounce all forms of proxy wars, state-sponsored terrorism, human rights violations, cross-border terrorism, and subversive activities against each other including through non-state actors or support of separatist movements in each other’s state.

6. Support and encourage all forms of people to people contact, and remove visa restrictions and discrimination faced by citizens of both countries. This must be further taken forward to allow visa-free travel between India and Pakistan.

7. Increase trade and economic linkages and cultural exchanges between India and Pakistan.

Further, we pledge to uphold the principles of impartial reporting and urge media houses on either side to prevent the growing militarisation of debate. We must act responsibly and stop broadcasting hate speech and creating public hysteria aimed at the other country and/or vulnerable communities.

1. Dr. A. H. Nayyar, physicist, educationist, Lahore

2. Aakash Chandran, Assistant Editor, Lighthouse Project

3. Aastha Dua, lawyer, New Delhi

4. Abha Bhaiya, feminist activist, Himachal Pradesh

5. Abhishek Thakore, Co-Founder, The Blue Ribbon Movement, Mumbai, and South Asian Youth Conference Series

6. Achal Arora, insurance professional, Meerut

7. Adil Najam, Dean, Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University

8. Admiral L. Ramdas, former Chief of Naval Staff and Magsaysay Awardee for Peace, India

9. Afia Salam, freelance journalist, Karachi

10. Afrasiab Khattak, ex-Senator, Islamabad

11. Akshat Singhal, co-founder, The Blue Ribbon Movement, Mumbai

12. Alefia T. Hussain, journalist, The News on Sunday, Lahore

13. Aliya Harir, student at National Defence University, Islamabad

14. Aman Alam, software engineer, Bangalore

15. Amardeep Singh, author, Singapore

16. Amarpali Singh, poet, Chandigarh

17. Ameya Kilara, Leadership Fellow, Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

18. Ammu Joseph, independent journalist and author, Bangalore, India

19. Anand Chakravarti, Academician, Delhi

20. Anam Zakaria, author, development professional and educationist

21. Anis Haroon, activist

22. Anish Mishra, independent analyst and researcher on South Asia, Singapore

23. Anita Dixit, Social Researcher, Kolkata, India

24. Anita Katyal, journalist

25. Anton Babu, entrepreneur, Trivandrum

26. Anuradha Bhasin, Co-chair, Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy

27. Arundhati Dhuru, social activist, National Alliance of People's Movements, India

28. Dr. Asad Sayeed, economist, Karachi

29. Asma Jahangir, Chairperson Emeritus, HRCP, advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan

30. Ashok Chowdhury, All-India Union of Forest Working People, Delhi

31. Atia Anwar Zoon, Assistant Professor, Federal Urdu University, Islamabad

32. Dr. Ayesha Jalal, Mary Richardson Professor of History/Director, Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies, Tufts University

33. Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, research associate SOAS, University of London

34. Beena Sarwar, journalist, teacher, editor Aman ki Asha

35. Bina Sarkar Ellias, poet, editor and publisher, International Gallerie, Mumbai

36. Chaudhary Latif Akbar, President Peoples Party, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

37. Chintan Girish Modi, Peace Educator, India

38. Deepak Kathuria, Association of Peoples of Asia

39. Deepesh C, Assistant Professor, Chennai

40. Devang Shah, International Law and Diplomacy student

41. Devika Mittal, research student and convener (India) - Aaghaz-e-Dosti

42. Diep Saeeda, Peace Activist, Lahore

43. Dilrukshi Handunnetti, journalist and lawyer, Sri Lanka

44. Dunu Roy , Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University

45. Ellia Khan, Officiating Director, PeaceNiche | T2F, Karachi

46. Elsa D’silva, Founder and CEO, Red Dot Foundation, Mumbai

47. Ershad Mahmud, Executive Director, Center for Peace, Development and Reforms, Rawalakot

48. Ezabir Ali, women’s rights activist, Srinagar

49. Farooq Shah, Managing Editor Kashmir Observer

50. Dr. Farida Batool, Head of Visual Arts National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore

51. Fauzia Shahid, content editor PTV, Islamabad

52. Farida Nekzad, journalist, Kabul Afghanistan, South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) president

53. Furhan Hussain, Researcher and Trainer, Islamabad

54. Gauhar Raza, poet, filmmaker, Delhi

55. Gen. Tej Kaul, Executive President of India Pakistan Soldiers Initiative for Peace (IPSI)

56. Hameed ul Mehdi, Team Leader, Community Development and Entrepreneurship Foundation, Quetta

57. Harsh Desai, Campus Head, Thadomal Shahani Centre for Media and Communication, Mumbai

58. Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizen's Web (sacw.net)

59. Harsh Mander, writer, activist, Delhi

60. Harsh Narayan, filmmaker and activist, Delhi

61. Ilma Iqbal, law student and team member - Aaghaz-e-Dosti

62. Imran Aziz, businessman, Rawalpindi

63. Imran Zahid, actor, Delhi

64. Imtiaz Ali, Deputy Speaker, Provincial Youth Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

65. Irfan Aslam, journalist

66. Ishaan Jajodia, Founder, The Mumbai Art Collective & Student, Dartmouth College

67. Jamuna Rangachari, Writer and Website-in-Charge, Life Positive magazine

68. Jatin Desai, journalist, Mumbai

69. Jayaprakash Satyamurthy, Writer and Musician, Bangalore

70. Jayshree Murali, Educator, VIDYA India, Mumbai

71. John Dayal, writer and activist, New Delhi

72. K. N. Panikkar, Historian, Trivandrum

73. K. Satchidanandan, writer, Kerala

74. Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, analyst, commentator on strategic and security issues

75. Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist, Mumbai

76. Kami Kidwai, Management Consultant, London

77. Kamla Bhasin, social activist, India

78. Karamat Ali, Executive Director PILER, Secretary National Labour Council and Founding member PIPFPD, Karachi

79. Kavita Krishnan, secretary, All India Progressive Women's Association

80. Kavita Srivastava, human rights worker, People’s Union for Civil Liberties

81. Kedar Maddula, Wunderhaus Artists’ Getaway & Homestay, Pondicherry

82. Kejal Savla, Program Lead at Community Connect Fellowship, The Blue Ribbon Movement, India

83. Adv. Kenneth Joe Cleetus, Program Officer, Regional Centre of Expertise, Trivandrum

84. Keshav Sharma, B.S. PPE Candidate, Northeastern University

85. Khushal Khan, activist, Islamabad

86. Kirthi Jayakumar, Founder, Red Elephant Foundation, Chennai

87. Kishwar Naheed, poet, Islamabad: "Strongly endorse and requesting all India & Pakistani writers to come ahead for peace and dialogue"

88. Konchadi Vasanth Pai, retd Company Executive, Bengaluru

89. Kuldeep Kumar, Columnist and Commentator, Delhi

90. Lalita Ramdas, Peace Activist, Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, Alibag, India

91. Leena Dabiru, Legal and Development Consultant, Delhi

92. Madhulika Narasimhan, Research and Communications Professional and Core Member Aaghaz-e-Dosti

93. Mahesh Bhatt, film producer, India

94. Mani Shankar Aiyer, peace activist, writer, former parliamentarian, Delhi

95. Mannika Chopra, journalist

96. Mansi Sharma, Activist, Delhi

97. Maria Patel, advertising and media professional, Pakistan

98. Marvi Sirmed, journalist, Daily Times

99. Maroof Syed, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government (HKS)

100. Maya Mirchandani, journalist, India

101. Mazher Hussain, Executive Director, COVA, India

102. Meenakshi Chhabra, peace educator, Lesley University

103. Mehmal Sarfraz, journalist, Lahore

104. Mohd. Afroj, Research Scholar, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi

105. Mohammad Jibran Nasir, Never Forget Pakistan, Lawyer

106. Mohammad Shoaib, Aariz Media

107. Mohammad Tahseen, ED South Asia Partnership Pakistan and Convenor Pakistan Civil Society Forum

108. Mohammad Zakiuddin Mahdi, Research Scholar, Uttarakhand Technical University

109. Mukesh Arora, financial consultant, Meerut

110. Najiba Ayubi, journalist, Killid Group, Afghanistan

111. Nasim Zehra, journalist, teacher, TV anchor

112. Nasima Karim, Co-founder and Focal Point Central Asia at Here We Are, Kyrgyz Republic

113. Nandita Narain, associate professor in Mathematics, St Stephen's College Delhi University

114. Neena Gopal, Journalist, Resident Editor Deccan Chronicle, Bangalore

115. Nidhi Razdan, journalist, India

116. Nivedita, TV journalist, India

117. Nirupama Subramanian, journalist

118. Ovais Sultan Khan, social activist, Delhi

119. Pamela Philpose, journalist, India

120. Parag Shah, Communications Coordinator, Asia Plateau, Panchgani

121. Pawan Bali, journalist and filmmaker

122. Dr Pervez Hoodhboy, physicist and teacher, Islamabad

123. Pervez Majeed, Journalist, Srinagar, Kashmir

124. Pervin Sanghvi, Consultant, Development Communications, Mumbai

125. Praveen Singh, convenor for Milne Do and Students Right to Accommodation, Delhi

126. Prem Shankar Jha, journalist, columnist, India

127. Qurat-ul Ain, Lee Kuan Yew Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

128. Rabeea Arif, Head of Graphic Design, University of Karachi

129. Raheel Khursheed, Head of News Partnerships, South Asia & South East Asia at Twitter

130. Raheem ul Haq, Senior Research Fellow at Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Forman Christian College

131. Rahul Reddy, student, geopolitical analyst, technologist, humanist

132. Ram Mohan Rai, Advocate and Peace Activist

133. Ram Puniyani, Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai

134. Rahul Roy, filmmaker, Gurgaon

135. Dr. Raminder Jit Singh Founder & Director 'THE - SARA', Jammu

136. Rashida Dohad, Executive Director, Omar Asghar Khan Foundation, Islamabad

137. Ravi Kiran Jain, President PUCL, India

138. Ravi Nitesh Srivastava, Peace Activist, Founder - Aaghaz-e-Dosti

139. Raza Khan, Peace Activist, Lahore

140. Raza Habib Raja, PhD student, Syracuse University, USA

141. Raza Rumi, editor Daily Times, Cornell University faculty

142. Raza Syed, journalist, Awaaz multimedia Group

143. Reema Amin, educationist and peacenik, Lahore

144. Rita Manchanda, writer, activist, Delhi

145. Ruchhita Kazaria, advertiser, Kolkata

146. Saba Dewan, independent documentary filmmaker, Gurgaon

147. Saeed Ahmed Rid, Assistant Professor, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad

148. Safia Bokhari, peace activist, Lahore

149. Sahar Alamgir, Masters Student and Development Professional, Islamabad/London

150. Dr Saima Firdoos, physician, Rawalpindi/Boston, former board member APPNE

(Cover Photograph: Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik's work at Puri beach, Odisha)

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