Over 115 Eminent Personalities from India and Pakistan Sign Joint Memorandum Calling for Peace, Connectivity and Cooperation
Srinagar, July 1: In a significant people-led peace initiative, O.P. Shah, Chairman of the Centre for Peace and Progress, has spearheaded a joint appeal signed by more than 115 prominent personalities from India and Pakistan, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take meaningful steps towards restoring dialogue, normalising bilateral relations and promoting lasting peace between the two neighbours.
The memorandum, dated June 30, 2026, highlights that India and Pakistan together are home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s population and states that decades of conflict and mistrust have imposed heavy social, economic and humanitarian costs on both nations, particularly affecting the aspirations of younger generations.
Describing dialogue as the only sustainable path to resolving differences, the signatories stressed that the people of both countries deserve a future based on peace, development, regional cooperation and mutual prosperity rather than continued hostility and confrontation.
The appeal recommends a series of confidence-building measures, including the restoration of full diplomatic relations, the appointment of High Commissioners in New Delhi and Islamabad, and the resumption of normal visa services.
It also advocates the revival of structured bilateral talks on all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, while suggesting that both sides revisit the framework of negotiations held between 2004 and 2007. The memorandum further calls for de-escalation and gradual demilitarisation, taking into account the legitimate security concerns of both countries.
To strengthen people-to-people relations, the signatories have urged both governments to ease travel restrictions and facilitate exchanges among divided families, students, academics, journalists, artists, business leaders and civil society organisations.
The appeal also seeks the restoration of normal trade relations, reopening of commercial channels, revival of non-discriminatory trade arrangements and enhanced regional economic integration.
Among the key connectivity proposals are reopening the Attari–Wagah border for trade and travel, reviving the Srinagar–Muzaffarabad and Delhi–Lahore bus services, restoring the Samjhauta Express and Thar Express, opening the Kargil–Skardu route and allowing commercial overflights to improve regional connectivity and reduce travel costs.
The memorandum further recommends facilitating access to religious and cultural heritage sites, including reopening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, enabling Kashmiri Pandits to visit Sharada Peeth in the Neelam Valley, and encouraging cross-border pilgrimages and cultural exchanges.
On media engagement, the appeal urges both governments to lift restrictions on media organisations and digital platforms, facilitate cross-border travel for journalists and promote professional exchanges aimed at countering misinformation and fostering greater public understanding.
The memorandum concludes by stating that the initiative is a humanitarian appeal rather than an endorsement of any political position, urging both governments to place the welfare and aspirations of nearly two billion people above conflict and to choose dialogue, cooperation and peaceful coexistence.
The initiative, coordinated by O.P. Shah, carries the signatures of several distinguished political leaders, former diplomats, parliamentarians, academics, journalists, writers and civil society representatives from both India and Pakistan.
Prominent Indian signatories include Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Mehbooba Mufti, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Prof. Manoj Jha, A.S. Dulat, Jawhar Sircar, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, Aga Syed Hassan Mosavi, Prof. Saifuddin Soz, Bilal Gani Lone, Muzaffar Shah, Shahid Siddiqui, John Dayal, Humayun Kabir, Prof. Apoorvanand, Sandip Pandey, Rita Chakrabarti and several others.
Among the Pakistani signatories are former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, former diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Shamsher Ahmed Khan, Imtiaz Alam, Sheema Kirmani, Beena Sarwar, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Salima Hashmi, Farhatullah Babar, Faisal Siddiqui, Michelle Chaudhry, Aamir Rana, Moonis Ahmar and many other eminent personalities from Pakistan.
