Srinagar: More than 100 prominent citizens, including former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, from India and Pakistan have urged Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif to revive bilateral dialogue and restore normal ties.
An open letter, signed by Abdullah, Mufti, former RAW chief A S Dulat, Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, former diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, besides several retired diplomats and civil society members, asked the two governments to take “meaningful and sustained steps towards restoring peace, normalcy, dialogue and cooperation in South Asia”.
The letter dated June 30, coordinated by OP Shah, chairman of the Centre for Peace and Progress, and signed by 61 Indians and 55 Pakistanis, stressed that “sustained engagement and dialogue remain the only viable path to resolving differences”.
The signatories called for the restoration of full diplomatic relations, reinstatement of high commissioners, resumption of normal visa services and reopening of a comprehensive bilateral dialogue on all outstanding issues.
They also sought discussions on Jammu and Kashmir, including revisiting the framework negotiated between 2004 and 2007, along with steps towards demilitarisation and de-escalation while addressing the “legitimate security concerns” of both countries.
The appeal also sought reopening of trade channels, restoration of normal commercial relations, revival of the Most Favoured Nation or equivalent non-discriminatory trade arrangement and reopening of the Attari-Wagah land border.
It also called for resumption of the Delhi-Lahore bus service, Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, Samjhauta Express and Thar Express, opening of the Kargil-Skardu route and reopening of airspace for commercial flights.
It sought the reopening of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, opening of Sharada Peeth for pilgrims, easing travel restrictions, greater exchanges among students, journalists, artists and business persons, and lifting restrictions on media outlets and digital platforms.
“The future of South Asia should be shaped not by division and conflict, but by peace, prosperity and shared progress,” the letter said, adding that the appeal was “not an endorsement of any political position” but a call to place the welfare and aspirations of nearly two billion people “above conflict, confrontation and division”.
India and Pakistan together are home to nearly one-fifth of humanity, with a large proportion of their populations being young. Continued hostility deprives millions of young people of opportunities, prosperity and a secure future, the signatories wrote.
They urged both governments to choose engagement over isolation, dialogue over hostility, and cooperation over confrontation.
BJP slams eminent people seeking revival of bilateral dialogue between India, Pakistan
The BJP on Wednesday slammed a group of eminent people from India and Pakistan seeking revival of bilateral dialogue and restoration of normal ties between the two countries, calling them “pro-Pakistan brigade”.
This came after more than 100 prominent citizens, including former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, from India and Pakistan urged Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif to revive bilateral dialogue and restore normal ties.
Asked about it, BJP national spokesperson Prem Shukla told PTI Videos, “This pro-Pakistan brigade should write this letter to Pakistan only.”
India has maintained a clear stand that peace talks cannot take place amid the “sounds of bombs and gunfire”, Shukla said, adding, “If Pakistan ceases the training and sponsorship of terrorism, bilateral talks will commence.”
The BJP spokesperson took on Abdullah, daring him to show courage and urge Pakistan to stop sponsoring and training terrorists.
“If Abdullah has the courage, he and his associates should urge Pakistan to stop sponsoring and training terrorists,” he said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Gulam Ali Khatana said it has always been India’s policy to maintain good relations with its neighbours, fostering trade and the movement of people.
“Unfortunately, our western neighbour, Pakistan, has crossed all limits of barbarism and atrocity… There is no parallel in the world to the brutality witnessed in Pahalgam,” he told PTI Videos, when asked.
“Two things cannot go hand in hand. There can’t be terror and inflitration, and dialogue simultaneously bullets and peace talks cannot go together,” he added.
An open letter, signed by Abdullah, Mufti, former RAW chief A S Dulat, Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, former diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri besides several retired diplomats and civil society members asked the two governments to take “meaningful and sustained steps towards restoring peace, normalcy, dialogue and cooperation in South Asia”.
The June 30 letter, coordinated by Centre for Peace and Progress chairman O P Shah and signed by 61 Indians and 55 Pakistanis, stressed that “sustained engagement and dialogue remain the only viable path to resolving differences”.
The signatories called for the restoration of full diplomatic relations, reinstatement of high commissioners, resumption of normal visa services and reopening of a comprehensive bilateral dialogue on all outstanding issues.
They also sought discussions on Jammu and Kashmir, including revisiting the framework negotiated between 2004 and 2007, along with steps towards demilitarisation and de-escalation while addressing the “legitimate security concerns” of both countries.
The appeal also sought the reopening of trade channels, restoration of normal commercial relations, revival of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status or equivalent non-discriminatory trade arrangement and reopening of the Attari-Wagah land border.
J&K strategically located, can be a gateway between South and Central Asia: Mehbooba
Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday suggested that the Centre make Jammu and Kashmir a gateway between South and Central Asia, and use its geographical location to strengthen ties with Pakistan and China.
“The situation around the world is changing. You have seen how a small country like Iran used its strategic position — the Strait of Hormuz — to bring a powerful nation like the US to its knees. Jammu and Kashmir also has a strategic geographical position,” Mehbooba told reporters here.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir has been “engulfed” by a conflict between India and Pakistan, which led to sufferings, she said the Union Territory should be made a bridge of peace between the two countries instead.
“PDP’s stance has always been one of reconciliation. Jammu and Kashmir has become a battleground. Instead, it should become a bridge of peace between India and Pakistan. Roads should be open, there should be movement between the two countries,” the former chief minister said, welcoming the recent RSS statements favouring dialogue.
Citing former prime minister A B Vajpayee’s remark that “friends can be changed, but not neighbours”, she said that any prime minister’s legacy was not about how powerful he was or how many years he had ruled, but about how many conflicts he had resolved.
“Today, I believe, both countries have a golden opportunity. Shahbaz Sharif has the Army on the same page with him. Here in our country, Modiji is very powerful. They have a golden opportunity,” she said.
Calling for the revival of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the PDP chief said India should take the leadership of SAARC into its own hands.
“(And) it should make Jammu and Kashmir an experiment of SAARC. All SAARC countries should invest here,” she said.
Referring to the opening of Lipulekh Road — the 80-kilometre Himalayan corridor connecting Uttarakhand to Lipulekh Pass at the India-Tibet border — she asked, “Why can’t Khotan, Yarkand or Kashgar open through Ladakh?”
“If with Jammu and Kashmir’s strategic position, we can become the gateway to Central Asia and South Asia, then the entire situation here will change. It will also benefit the country as a whole. For that, it is necessary to have good relations with Pakistan and China,” she said.
Pointing to the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A by the Centre in 2019, Mehbooba said “nothing was achieved” even though the BJP used the “most dangerous weapon” against Jammu and Kashmir.
“Even now, there is alienation. You have made it an open-air prison. There is no freedom to speak here, no freedom to protest peacefully. You are just managing it day-to-day,” she said.
Mehbooba said India used to have confrontation only with Pakistan, but after 2019, China has also “occupied a lot of land” in Ladakh.
“So, why not negotiate and set an example of greatness? Modi should try to improve our relations with Pakistan and China. And in that, Jammu and Kashmir can play a very important role, because roads pass through here.
“If you have a good formula that doesn’t undermine the sovereignty of our country or Pakistan, why aren’t we doing that? Because it is not the old world anymore, it has changed. We should now use our strategic position, just like Pakistan did,” she said.
The former chief minister said that right now, Pakistan is on the central stage in the world because they have a strategic position.
“It is being said that they (Pakistan) stopped the Third World War. We also have such a good strategic position in Jammu and Kashmir, which can connect South Asia and Central Asia. Why don’t we use that?” she asked.
