New Delhi/Islamabad (The Express Tribune): With tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan on the rise, some concerned citizens from India and Pakistan have come together to formulate a statement expressing their deep concern at “the current rise in animosity and antagonism between India and Pakistan”. The resolution urges “both governments and their security establishments to take all steps possible towards improving relations”.
Noting that “whenever it seems that relations might improve, some form of disruption takes place ranging from jingoistic statements to militant attacks” the statement makes general points about the conflict, preferring not to address recent specific points of contention like soldiers beheaded at the border, schoolchildren sent back from an exchange programmer, medical visas being withheld and so on. “The traditional response to such disruptions only strengthens those who want continued tensions between our two countries”, points out the statement.
Nearly 250 thought-leaders, journalists, lawyers, activists, filmmakers, physicians and students endorsed the privately-shared statement since it was initiated on May 5. Prominent signatories include former parliamentarian Mani Shankar Aiyer, former senator Afrasiab Khattak, retired bureaucrat Harsh Mander, advocate Asma Jahangir, academics Meenakshi Chabbra, Adil Najam and Ayesha Siddiqa, historians Ayesha Jalal and K. N. Panikkar, filmmakers Mahesh Bhat, Gauhar Raza, Saba Dewan and Rahul Roy, artist Salima Hashmi, Jammu-based Anuradha Bhasin, Co-chair, Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, political activist and economist Salman Anees Soz from Srinagar, nuclear physicist A. H. Nayyar, besides many others.
Activists Tapan Bose, Rita Manchanda, Shabnam Hashmi, Karamat Ali, Kamla Bhasin and others are also among the signatories, along with youth activists like Mohammad Jibran Nasir, Chintan Girish Modi, Devika Mittal and others.
Retired Indian armed forces personnel who have endorsed the resolution include Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, Admiral L. Ramdas, former Chief of Naval Staff and Magsaysay Awardee for Peace, and Gen. Tej Kaul, Executive President of India Pakistan Soldiers Initiative for Peace (IPSI). The statement organisers could not reach the Pakistani retired armed forces personnel who have been active in the peace movement but hope to include them another time.
Endorsing the statement from Islamabad poet Kishwar Naheed adds a comment: “Strongly endorse and requesting all India & Pakistani writers to come ahead for peace and dialogue”.
Several prominent journalists have also endorsed the statement, which pledges “to uphold the principles of impartial reporting and urge media houses on either side to prevent the growing militarisation of debate”. They include Prem Shankar Jha, Siddharth Varadarajan, Jyoti Malhotra, Nidhi Razdan, Jatin Desai, Marvi Sirmed, Raza Rumi, Shivam Vij, Kalpana Sharma, Ammu Joseph, Anita Katyal, Beena Sarwar, Saleem Asmi (former editor of Dawn), Sanjay Kapoor, Fauzia Shahid, Afia Salam and from Afghanistan, Najiba Ayubi and Farida Nekzad.
“We must act responsibly and stop broadcasting hate speech and creating public hysteria aimed at the other country and/or vulnerable communities”, says the resolution.
Endorsements have come in not just from India and Pakistan but from concerned citizens in other countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, indicating how people elsewhere feel impacted by relations between the two South Asian giants.
While the statement may not affect policy between the two countries, organisers hope that it will serve as a “pebble thrown in a pond that will have a ripple effect” as one activist put it.
Text of the resolution and current signatories below.
Resolution for peaceful relations between India and Pakistan
Make dialogue un-interrupted and un-interruptible
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:
- 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.
- Ensure that political leaders, diplomats and civil servants from both countries conduct talks on the side-lines of all international and multilateral forums.
- 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.
- Implement the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nandita Das
Endorsed (names sorted in alphabetical order):
Name, Designation
- A. H. Nayyar, physicist, educationist, Lahore
- Aakash Chandran, Assistant Editor, Lighthouse Project
- Aasha Mehreen Amin, Deputy Editor, Editorial and Op-Ed, The Daily Star, Bangladesh
- Aastha Dua, lawyer, New Delhi
- Abha Bhaiya, activist, Himachal Pradesh
- Abhay Ramchand Shaha, Baramati, Maharashtra-Architect and National Secretary, Servas International Peace Organisation
- Abhishek Thakore, Co-founder, The Blue Ribbon Movement, Mumbai, and South Asian Youth Conference Series
- Achal Arora, insurance professional, Meerut
- Adil Jussawala, Poet, Mumbai
- Adil Najam, Dean, Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University
- Admiral L. Ramdas, former Chief of Naval Staff and Magsaysay Awardee for Peace, India
- Afia Salam, freelance journalist, Karachi
- Afrasiab Khattak, ex-Senator, Islamabad
- Akshat Singhal, Co-founder, The Blue Ribbon Movement, Mumbai
- Alefia T. Hussain, journalist, The News on Sunday, Lahore
- Aliya Harir, student at National Defence University, Islamabad
- Alka Subramanian, San Diego
- Aman Alam, software engineer, Bangalore
- Amardeep Singh, author, Singapore
- Amarpali Singh, poet, Chandigarh
- Ameya Kilara, Leadership Fellow, Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Ammu Joseph, independent journalist and author, Bangalore, India
- Anand Chakravarti, academician, Delhi
- Anam Zakaria, author, development professional and educationist
- Anis Haroon, activist
- Anish Mishra, independent analyst and researcher on South Asia, Singapore
- Anita Dixit, social researcher, Kolkata
- Anita Katyal, journalist
- Anju Khemani, disability consultant, Hyderabad, India
- Anton Babu, entrepreneur, Trivandrum
- Anuradha Bhasin, Co-chair, Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy
- Arfa Khanum Sherwani, broadcast journalist, New Delhi
- Aruna Roy, social activist, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan
- Arundhati Dhuru, social activist, National Alliance of People’s Movements, India
- Asad Sayeed, economist, Karachi
- Asha Hans, Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy
- Ashok Chowdhury, All-India Union of Forest Working People, Delhi
- Asiya Shervani, diversity and inclusion consultant, Hyderabad, India
- Asma Jahangir, Chairperson Emeritus, HRCP & Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan
- Asma Shirazi, senior anchor/editor current affairs, Aaj News
- Atia Anwar Zoon, Assistant Professor, Federal Urdu University, Islamabad
- Ayesha Jalal, Mary Richardson Professor of History/Director, Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies, Tufts University
- Ayesha Siddiqa, research associate SOAS, University of London
- Baela Raza Jamil, Founder and CEO, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, Pakistan
- Barnali Ray Shukla, filmmaker, Mumbai
- Baruna Bhattacharya, writer, Kolkata
- Beena Sarwar, journalist, teacher, editor Aman ki Asha
- Bina Sarkar Ellias, poet, editor and publisher, International Gallerie, Mumbai
- Bushra Gohar, activist, Peshawar
- Chaudhry Latif Akbar, President Peoples Party, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
- Chintan Girish Modi, peace educator, writer and researcher, Mumbai
- Darryl D’Monte, environmentalist journalist, Mumbai
- Deepak Kathuria, Association of Peoples of Asia
- Deepak Nahar, Past National President, JCI India
- Deepesh C, Assistant Professor, Chennai
- Devang Shah, international law and diplomacy student
- Devika Mittal, research student and convener (India) Aaghaz-e-Dosti
- Diep Saeeda, peace activist, Lahore
- Dilrukshi Handunnetti, journalist and lawyer, Sri Lanka
- Dunu Roy, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University
- Ellia Khan, Officiating Director, PeaceNiche | T2F, Karachi
- Elsa D’Silva, Founder and CEO, Red Dot Foundation, Mumbai
- Ershad Mahmud, Executive Director, Center for Peace, Development and Reforms, Rawalakot
- Ezabir Ali, women’s rights activist, Srinagar
- Farooq Shah, Managing Editor, Kashmir Observer
- Farida Batool, Head of Visual Arts National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore
- Fauzia Shahid, content editor PTV, Islamabad
- Farida Nekzad, journalist, Kabul Afghanistan, South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) president
- Furhan Hussain, researcher and trainer, Islamabad
- Gauhar Raza, poet, filmmaker, Delhi
- Geetha Durairajan, Professor, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India
- Tej Kaul, Executive President of India Pakistan Soldiers Initiative for Peace (IPSI)
- Hameed-ul-Mehdi, Team Leader, Community Development and Entrepreneurship Foundation, Quetta
- Harsh Desai, Campus Head, Thadomal Shahani Centre for Media and Communication, Mumbai
- Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizen’s Web (net)
- Harsh Mander, writer, activist, Delhi
- Harsh Narayan, filmmaker and activist, Delhi
- Hilda Saeed, activist, member, Women’s Action Forum and Shirkat Gah
- Ilma Iqbal, law student and team member, Aaghaz-e-Dosti
- Imran Aziz, businessman, Rawalpindi
- Imran Zahid, actor, Delhi
- Imtiaz Ali, Deputy Speaker, Provincial Youth Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Inder Salim, artist, New Delhi
- Indra Munshi, sociologist, Mumbai
- Irfan Aslam, journalist
- Ishaan Jajodia, Founder, The Mumbai Art Collective & Student, Dartmouth College
- Jamuna Rangachari, writer and website in-charge, Life Positive magazine
- Jatin Desai, journalist, Mumbai
- Jayaprakash Satyamurthy, writer and musician, Bangalore
- Jayshree Murali, educator, VIDYA India, Mumbai
- Jayshree Shukla, concerned citizen, Delhi
- Jerusha D’sa, educational freelancer, Mumbai
- John Dayal, writer and activist, New Delhi
- Jyoti Malhotra, journalist
- N. Panikkar, historian, Trivandrum
- Satchidanandan, writer, Kerala
- Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, analyst, commentator on strategic and security issues
- Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist, Mumbai
- Kami Kidwai, management consultant, London
- Kamla Bhasin, social activist, India
- Karamat Ali, Executive Director PILER, Secretary National Labour Council and Founding member PIPFPD, Karachi
- Kavita Krishnan, Secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association
- Kavita Srivastava, human rights worker, People’s Union for Civil Liberties
- Kedar Maddula, Wunderhaus Artists’ Getaway & Homestay, Pondicherry
- Kejal Savla, Program Lead at Community Connect Fellowship, The Blue Ribbon Movement, India
- Kenneth Joe Cleetus, Program Officer, Regional Centre of Expertise, Trivandrum
- Keshav Sharma, B.S. PPE Candidate, Northeastern University
- Khushal Khan, activist, Islamabad
- Kirthi Jayakumar, Founder, Red Elephant Foundation, Chennai
- Kishwar Naheed, poet, Islamabad
- Konchadi Vasanth Pai, retd company executive, Bengaluru
- Kuldeep Kumar, columnist and commentator, Delhi
- Lalita Ramdas, peace activist, Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy, Alibag
- Leena Dabiru, legal and development consultant, Delhi
- Madhulika Narasimhan, research and communications professional and core member Aaghaz-e-Dosti
- Mahesh Bhatt, film producer, India
- Mani Shankar Aiyar, peace activist, writer, former parliamentarian, Delhi
- Mannika Chopra, journalist
- Mansi Sharma, activist, Delhi
- Maria Patel, advertising and media professional, Pakistan
- Marvi Sirmed, journalist, Daily Times
- Maroof Syed, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government (HKS)
- Maya Mirchandani, journalist, India
- Mazher Hussain, Executive Director, COVA, India
- Meenakshi Chhabra, peace educator, Lesley University
- Meenakshi Chakraverti, writer, San Diego
- Mehmal Sarfraz, journalist, Lahore
- Melanie P. Kumar, independent writer, Bangalore
- Afroj, research scholar, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
- Mohammad Jibran Nasir, Never Forget Pakistan, lawyer
- Mohammad Shoaib, Aariz Media
- Mohammad Tahseen, ED, South Asia Partnership Pakistan & Convenor, Pakistan Civil Society Forum
- Mohammad Zakiuddin Mahdi, research scholar, Uttarakhand Technical University
- Mona Kazim Shah, founder, Project Pakistan, journalist and human rights activist, Dallas
- Mukesh Arora, financial consultant, Meerut
- Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, Coordinator, Swarajpeeth Trust (Kashmir Chapter) & Founding Trustee, Inspire Me Foundation
- Najiba Ayubi, journalist, Killid Group, Afghanistan
- Nasim Zehra, journalist, teacher, TV anchor, Islamabad
- Nasima Karim, Co-founder and Focal Point Central Asia at Here We Are, Kyrgyz Republic
- Nandita Narain, associate professor in Mathematics, St Stephen’s College Delhi University
- Neena Gopal, Resident Editor, Deccan Chronicle, Bangalore
- Nidhi Razdan, journalist, India
- Niharika Awasthi, development communication professional, BBC Media Action, Delhi
- Nivedita Jha, freelance journalist.
- Nirupama Subramanian, journalist
- Noorjehan Bilgrami, artist, Karachi
- Omang Agarwal, Asia Coordinator, Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, Delhi
- Ovais Sultan Khan, social activist, Delhi
- Pamela Philipose, Public Editor, The Wire, New Delhi
- Parag Shah, Communications Coordinator, Asia Plateau, Panchgani
- Pawan Bali, journalist and filmmaker
- Dr Pervez Hoodhboy, physicist and teacher, Islamabad
- Pervez Majeed, journalist, Srinagar, Kashmir
- Pervin Sanghvi, development communications consultant, Mumbai
- Praveen Singh, convenor for Milne Do and Students Right to Accommodation, Delhi
- Prem Shankar Jha, journalist, columnist, India
- Qurat-ul Ain, Lee Kuan Yew Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
- Rabeea Arif, Head of Graphic Design, University of Karachi
- Raheel Khursheed, Head of News Partnerships, South Asia & South East Asia at Twitter
- Raheem ul Haq, Senior Research Fellow at Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Forman Christian College
- Rahul Reddy, student, geopolitical analyst, technologist, humanist
- Ram Mohan Rai, advocate and peace activist
- Ram Puniyani, Center for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai
- Rahul Roy, filmmaker, Gurgaon
- Raminder Jit Singh, Founder and Director ‘THE – SARA’, Jammu
- Rashida Dohad, Executive Director, Omar Asghar Khan Foundation, Islamabad
- Ravi Kiran Jain, President PUCL, India
- Ravi Nitesh, peace activist, Founder, Aaghaz-e-Dosti
- Raza Khan, peace activist, Lahore
- Raza Habib Raja, PhD student, Syracuse University, USA
- Raza Rumi, Editor Daily Times, Cornell University faculty
- Raza Syed, journalist, Awaaz multimedia Group
- Reema Amin, educationist and peacenik, Lahore
- Rita Manchanda, writer, activist, Delhi
- Ruchhita Kazaria, advertiser, Kolkata
- Rumana Husain, artist, Karachi
- Saba Dewan, independent documentary filmmaker, Gurgaon
- Saeed Ahmed Rid, Assistant Professor, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad
- Safia Bokhari, peace activist, Lahore
- Sahar Alamgir, student and development professional, Islamabad/London
- Dr Saima Firdoos, physician, Rawalpindi/Boston, former board member APPNE
- Sajid Iqbal, research scholar, COMSATS University, Abbottabad
- Saleem Asmi, journalist, former editor Dawn, Pakistan
- Salima Hashmi, artist, educator, Lahore
- Salman Anees Soz, activist, development economist
- Salonie Dua, student, University of Delhi
- Samiksha Raorane, Manager, Global Foundation, Mumbai
- Samir Gupta, IT professional
- Sandeep Pandey, teacher and social activist, Socialist Party, India
- Sanjay Kapoor, Editor, Hardnews Magazine
- Saroj Nagi, freelance journalist, New Dellhi
- Saroj Razdan, journalist, India
- Satyapaul, Secretary General, South Asian Fraternity
- Saumya Aggarwal, Co-founder, Youth for Peace International, Delhi
- Seema Mustafa, journalist, Delhi
- Sehba Farooqui, Democratic Human Rights Network, Delhi
- Sehba Sarwar, independent writer/Artistic Director, Voices Breaking Boundaries
- Sehyr Mirza, independent journalist, Lahore
- Sevanti Ninan, journalist, New Delhi
- Shabnam Hashmi, social activist, Delhi
- Shastri Ramachandaran, independent journalist and international publications consultant, India
- Sheema Kermani, activist, Director Tehrik-e-Niswan
- Sheharyar Rizwan, journalist, Lahore
- Shehnaz Ismail, Professor Emeritus, Indus Valley School of Art and Design, Karachi
- Shiraz Hassan, journalist, Islamabad
- Shivam Vij, journalist, Delhi
- Shrenik Mutha, independent activist and poet, Pune
- Shruti Arora (Achesh), theater educator
- Shruti Ganapatye, The Asian Age, Mumbai
- Shujaat Bukhari, Editor-in-Chief, Rising Kashmir
- Shuma Raha, journalist, India
- Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor, TheWire.in
- Sini Nair, Educator, Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai
- Sristhi Chauhan, Fellow, Teach for India, Delhi
- Sudha Ramachandran, independent researcher and journalist, Bangalore
- Sunit Arora, journalist, India
- Swarna Rajagopalan, independent scholar and Managing Trustee, Prajnya, Chennai
- Swati Bhattacharjee, journalist, Kolkata
- Syed Ghazanfar Abbas, Correspondent, India Tomorrow News
- Syeda Afshana, columnist and media teacher, Srinagar
- Taimur Rahman, Assistant Professor LUMS
- Tapan Kumar Bose, Secretary General, South Asia Forum for Human Rights
- Talat Rahim, writer, Karachi
- Tanzeela Mazhar, journalist, Pakistan
- Tayyaba Hasan, Professor, Harvard Medical School
- Tulika Bathija, educator, Ecole Mondiale World School, Mumbai
- Uma Chakravarti, academician, Delhi
- Uma Sudhir, Resident Editor, NDTV
- Umair Vahidy, Dil Say Pakistan
- Umber Khairi, Producer, BBC
- Umer Abdur Rehman Janjua, columnist and author, Islamabad
- Umer Farooq, student, Lahore
- Urvashi Butalia, Director, Zubaan Publishers Pvt Ltd
- Vaibhav Arora, marketing professional, Delhi
- Vaishali Jethava, Program Coordinator, The Blue Ribbon Movement, India
- Vani Rijhwani, environment research student, Delhi
- Vasanth Kannabiran, writer and activist, Hyderabad, India
- Veejay Sai, writer, culture critic, Delhi
- Vijay Deshpande Satara, Maharashtra State Freedom Fighters Successors Organisation and Indo-Pak Friendship Forum, Satara District
- Vinay Nagaraju, Edward S. Mason Fellow and MPA Candidate 2017, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Vinayak Rajasekhar, Editor-in-Chief, paxpolitica.com
- Vipul Shaha, educator, Krishnamurti Foundation of India, Pune
- Waqas Halim, Director, Center for Technology in Education, Information Technology University, Lahore
- Yasmeen Kazi, Professor of Paediatrics, Karachi
- Yogesh Mathuria, peace warrior, World School of Happiness, Pune
- Zalla Khattak, freelance consultant, Islamabad
- Zar Ali Khan Afridi, Chairman FATA Commission of Human Rights
- Zakia Sarwar, teacher trainer, Founder Member, Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers
- Zohaib Karim, Co-founder and Lead Strategist at MentHub, Karachi
As of May 7, 2017
UPDATE: Since the resolution was posted on May 7, 2017, more than a hundred people from both sides have endorsed it and continue to do so.
- Aabida Ali, activist, Karachi
- Aamer Raza, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar
- Aasiya Ishaq, Pak Serzameen Party, Karachi
- Achin Vanaik,Retd. Professor of International Relations, University of Delhi
- Adil Jussawala, poet, Mumbai
- Afia Sheherbano, Women’s Action Forum Karachi
- Agha Iqrar Haroon, Chief Editor, Dispatch News Desk News agency
- Ahmad Quraishi, TV anchor, Islamabad
- Ali Arqam, journalist, Karachi
- Ali Raza Abidi, parliamentarian, Karachi
- Amar Sindhu, Women’s Action Forum, Hyderabad
- Amit Jagda, image consultant, Mumbai
- Amit Mehra, photographer, New Delhi
- Amna Mawaz Khan, dancer and political activist, Islamabad
- Indian Air Force Sqn Ldr Anil Sehgal, Mumbai
- Prof. Anita Ghai, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi
- Anjali Monteiro, Professor, School of Media and Cultural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
- Anju Makhija, poet and writer, Mumbai
- Dr. Arfana Mallah, Women’s Action Forum, Hyderabad, Pakistan
- Arshad Haroon, Pukhtunkhwa Civil Society Network (PCSN), Peshawar
- Arshad Rizvi, activist, Rawalpindi
- Atiqa Shahid, gender rights activist, Lahore
- Ayesham Sitara, student
- Babar Ayaz, journalist and author, Karachi
- Baruna Bhattacharya, writer, Kolkata
- Brian McMahon, retired master mariner, ex merchant navy from Kolkata
- Devashish Makhija, filmmaker, poet, artist, author, Mumbai
- Dolly Thakore, actor, Mumbai
- Faizan Lakhani, journalist, Karachi
- Faredoon Bhujwala, freelance corporate trainer, British Council and various other corporates, Mumbai
- Farhana Kanwal, development professional, Chitral/Islamabad
- Farieha Aziz, journalist, Karachi
- Farooq Tariq, Spokesperson, Awami Workers Party
- Feroza Batool, PhD Scholar Gender Studies, Lahore
- G. Sundarrajan, environmental activist, Chennai
- Gurmehar Kaur, student, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi
- Harnidh Kaur, policy professional and poet, Mumbai
- Harris Khalique, poet and essayist, Islamabad
- Haroon Baloch, activist, Islamabad
- Iqbal Alavi, Secretary, Tareekh Foundation
- Irfan Engineer, Director, Centre for Study of Society & Secularism, Mumbai, India
- Irfan Mufti, human rights and peace activist
- Kami Chouhdry, trans rights activist, Executive Director Subrang Society, Karachi
- Dr. K.P. Jayasankar, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, Mumbai
- K. Satchidanandan, Poet & writer, New Delhi, India
- Kamala Visweswaran, anthropologist, San Diego
- Kamila Hyat, columnist, former newspaper editor, Lahore
- Khadija Mashood Mian, student, Lahore
- Kim Jurgensen. communications manager, South Africa
- Krishna Menon, Professor, Gender Studies, Ambedkar University, Delhi
- Laraib Abid, Founder, Mashal, Lahore
- Manoj Mitta, journalist, author, Delhi
- Maria Harir, banking professional, Islamabad
- Maria Memon, journalist, Karachi
- Matthew Mattam, YouthAid Foundation, Pune
- Mazhar Arif, journalist, activist, Islamabad
- Mohini Giri, chairperson, War Widows Association, New Delhi
- Moniza Inam, journalist, Executive Director, WAF, Karachi
- Motika Anand, Chicago
- Dr Mubarak Ali, historian, Lahore
- Mubashir Zaidi, journalist, Dawn News
- Muhammad Al-Helal, M.Phil. Researcher on Sub Regional Cooperation in South Asia under the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka
- Col. N. N. Bhatia (Retd), writer /author/ involved in welfare of war widows and repatriation of Indian/Pakistani POWs from Noida, India. “LET PEACE & CORDIAL RELATIONS PREVAIL IN INDUS -GANGES CIVILISATION!”
- Nadeem Anthony, activist, Lahore
- Nadra Huma Quraishi, Manager Professional Development, educationist, Karachi
- Nandita Das, actor and filmmaker, Mumbai
- Commander Narender Chandola, Engineer and Management Professional from IIT Delhi & IIM Indore, Ex Defence Officer / Joint Director, Ministry of Defence. Greater Noida (UP), India
- Naseer Memon, activist, Islamabad
- Nidhi Iyer, freelance photographer, writer, Kolkata
- Nighat Dad, lawyer and Activist, Lahore
- Nilofar Afridi Qazi, activist, Islamabad
- Nilova Roychaudhury, journalist, New Delhi
- Nitya Jacob, author, New Delhi
- Noman Quadri, lawyer, accountant, activist, Karachi
- Prerna Gupta, student, Mumbai
- Qandeel Fatima, banker, Lahore
- Rachana Johri, Professor, Ambedkar University, Delhi
- Rajmohan Gandhi, writer, India
- Rakesh Sharma, filmmaker, Mumbai
- Ranjit Kumar, journalist, Punjab Kesari group, New Delhi
- Resham Sitara, student, Sialkot
- Ritu Dewan, President, Indian Association for Women’s Studies, Mumbai
- Rukhshanda Naz, activist, Peshawar
- Dr Saif Mahmood Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Founder, South Asian Alliance for Literature, Art and Culture
- Salima Saleem, registered nurse, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi
- Saman Jafri, parliamentarian, Karachi
- Sarah Riaz Awan, Core Member, Hum Sub Aik Hain
- Sarwar Bari, activist, Islamabad
- Samana Malaika Raza, activist, Islamabad
- Sanna Ejaz, peace activist/journalist, Peshawar
- Satish Mishra, journalist, New Delhi
- Seema Anil Sehgal, peace singer, also known as ‘Bulbul e Kashmir’, Jammu/Mumbai
- Seema Guha, Journalist, New Delhi
- Shabana Arif, activist, Islamabad
- Shahzad Ahmad, activist, Islamabad
- Shastri Ramachandran, journalist, New Delhi
- Air Vice Marshal Shehzad Chaudhry, analyst, Islamabad
- Sheikh Manzoor, journalist, New Delhi
- Shubha Singh, columnist, New Delhi
- Shri prakash, filmmaker, teacher, Ranchi, India
- Shobhna Jain, journalist, New Delhi
- Sidra Saeed, activist, Islamabad
- Sitara Rafiq, M.Phil. scholar, Gender and Development studies, Lahore
- Sohail Malik, Cloud professional, IBM, Dallas, Texas
- Sumaia Akbari, student at Bamyan University, working with GFA consultancy group as Monitoring & Evaluation Manager at Bamyan, Afghanistan
- Sumaira Ishfaq, activist, Jhelum
- Sumit Chakravartty, Editor, Mainstream, New Delhi
- Suraya Islam, coordinator of Aaghaz-e-Dosti, Karachi
- Swati Sharan, writer/publisher, Hamilton, Canada
- Syed Harir Shah, disaster management practitioner, Chitral
- Syed Jarrar Shah, business professional, Lahore
- Syeda Shiwal Raza, student, University of the Punjab, Lahore
- Taimur Kamal, activist, Peshawar
- Tanveer Jahan, activist, Lahore
- Dr Tariq Rahman, Pride of Performance, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Dean School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and Social Sciences / Education, Beaconhouse National University, Lahore
- Tripta Wahi, social activist and retd Associate Professor, University of Delhi
- Umer Ali, journalist, Islamabad
- Urwah Sultana, Voice Society for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, Lahore
- Vaishali Patil, activist, Raigad, India
- Vaishnavi, writer and filmmaker, Founder, Women Making Films India
- Ved Pratap Vaidik, journalist & peace activist, New Delhi
- Vijay Naik, Convenor, Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents, New Delhi
- Vijay Satokar, consultant, Press Trust of India, New Delhi
- Vipul Rikhi, writer and singer, Bangalore
- Vineeta Pandey, The Pioneer newspaper, New Delhi
- Vinita Agrawal, author, Mumbai
- Vinod Sharma, Regional President, South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA), New Delhi
- Vinod Varshney, Journalist, New Delhi
- Wajid Shamsul Hassan, former Pakistani diplomat, London
- Yuki Ellias, actor, Mumbai
- Zaibun Nisa Hussain, teacher, ACE International Academy, Rawalpindi
- Zain Alavi, Non-Executive Chairman, Muller and Phipps Pakistan Pvt Ltd
- Zarminae Ansari, architect/ writer/ publisher, Paris
- Zeeshan Majeed, entrepreneur, Kolkata
- Zehra Arshad, activist, Islamabad
- Zia Ur Rehman, journalist, Karachi
- Zunaira Qayum Ali, student, Forman Christian College University, Lahore
