NEW DELHI: In a joint appeal, a group of prominent voices from India and Pakistan including authors, journalists, civil society leaders, and rights defenders have denounced the recent bloodshed in Pahalgam and demanded a transparent inquiry into the tragedy. They also pressed for restraint from both nations to prevent the dangerous drift toward armed confrontation.
Reacting to the horrific assault that took the lives of numerous civilians in Pahalgam, this collective of peace campaigners across the subcontinent released a formal joint communiquรฉ.
โWe, as conscientious citizens of India and Pakistan, strongly denounce the heinous assault on defenseless tourists in the Pahalgam region and reject any justification for such violence wherever it occurs,โ the statement read.
They called for an impartial and in-depth investigation to identify and prosecute those responsible for orchestrating the killings, stressing the need to deliver justice swiftly and without bias.
Expressing alarm at rising military rhetoric and strained diplomatic exchanges between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, the signatories urged a halt to provocations and military posturing.
They asserted that whipping up nationalist sentiment or plunging into any form of armed confrontation would have disastrous consequences for both populations and regional peace.
Calling for the immediate lowering of tensions, the statement urged leadership in both capitals to pursue meaningful dialogue, emphasizing that rational discourse must triumph over destructive aggression.
โThe trajectory of animosity must be reversed before it spirals beyond control. Dialogue, not devastation, is the only sensible path forward,โ the activists declared.
The statement was endorsed by a wide array of peace advocates.
From Pakistan, the list included Imtiaz Alam (SAFMA), Tariq Khosa (ex-Punjab police chief), journalist Mujeeb ur Rehman Shami, rights activist Hussain Naqi (HRCP), Dawn columnist Zahid Hussain, Afrasian Jhatak (NDM, KP), senior editor Rashid Rehman, acclaimed artist Saleema Hashmi, womenโs rights pioneer Khawar Mumtaz, Farooq Tariq (Haqooq-e-Khalq Party), Dr Abdul Maalik (National Party), Ayub Malik (NP Punjab), Sheema Kirmani (Tehreek-e-Niswan), peace convener Mohammed Tehseen (PIPFPD), former KP police head Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, architect Tasneem Rizvi, Imtiaz ul Haq (MKP), Beena Sarwar (SAPAN), editor Khalid Farooqi (Jang), Dr Jabbar Khattak (Awami Awaz, Sindh), Senator Buledi (Baluchistan), labor leader Nasir (NTUF), journalist Mahesh Kumar (Sindh), activist Kamran Chaudhary, and Allama Siddique Azhar (progressive writersโ group), among others.
From India, supporters included peace campaigner O.P. Shah, activist Tarun Basu, veteran journalist John Dayal, SAFMA Indiaโs Satish Jacob, MP-editor Kumar Ketkar, journalist Satnam Singh Manak (Hind-Pak Dosti Manch), Rumesh Yadev (Amritsar Lok Academy), scholar Anand Kumar, activist Nizamuddin Bhat, political leader M.Y. Tarigami, activist Sunil Wattal, senior journalist Anita Katyal (SAFMA India), author Rita Manchanda, campaigner Qurban Ali, D. Khajuria, and Rana Siddiqui Zaman, among others.
The appeal was officially released by the Central Secretariat of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), Lahore, with Imtiaz Alam, the associationโs Secretary General, as its principal signatory.
