More than 100 people, including 61 Indian citizens, who are apparently labelled as the political and intellectual elite of the country, have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi & Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, urging them to end hostilities with Pakistan and restore diplomatic relations. The signatories include National Conference chief Dr Farooq Abdullah, separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, RJD MP Manoj Jha, former TMC minister and current AJUP leader Humayun Kabir, Mani Shankar Aiyar and others.
The signatories have also requested reinstate High Commissioners in New Delhi and Islamabad, resumption of visa services, encourage people-to-people ties, accelerate cultural & religious exchanges and reopen the airspace. In the letter, the signatories have equated both New Delhi and Islamabad as aggressors. A gentle reminder to these Indian citizens who hail from elite backgrounds, live in an intellectual bubble and are in apathy to accept the harsh reality of terrorism.
Pakistan is a country where terrorism is deep-rooted as a state-sponsored policy. And, India is a victim of the atrocities of terror outfits nurtured and channelised by Islamabad. Thus, the perpetrators of terrorism and the victims of terrorism cannot be equated. Diplomatic relations cannot be brewed at the cost of India’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security. Letters of diplomacy and friendship cannot be scripted from the blood of thousands of Indians who have fallen to the terror bullets.
Writing a common letter to Prime Minister Modi & Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif to restore diplomatic ties and end hostilities, is in itself a blunder, because India and Pakistan are not two parties involved in a geopolitical conflict. Urging for peace and friendship, by considering both nations as equal stakeholders is irrational. Because one is clearly an aggressor and a terror-state that kills innocent civilians. The other is a victim of such aggression. India is striving hard to protect its people from terrorism and defend its national security.
The very recent Pahalgam terror attack, inflicted by Pakistan on April 22, 2025, killed 26 innocent Indian civilians, purely on the basis of religion. The tourists in Kashmir were killed by Pakistani terrorists just for being Hindus. When a country escalates such an intense atrocity with indoctrinated ideological roots, how can normalcy and diplomacy be extended to such an adversary. Post the Pahalgam terror attack, India has also kept the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, reiterating that blood and water cannot flow together.
The people who write an open letter to PM Modi and Shehbaz Sharif thus, should acknowledge the basic difference between both the countries. One is a perpetrator of terrorism and the other is a victim of terrorism. This also reflects how people who hail from India, enjoy elite political, socio-economic leverages from India, speak against the sovereignty and national security of the country.
The Indian citizens who have written a letter to PM Modi to end hostilities with Pakistan and resume diplomatic relations, should actually write a letter to Islamabad and Rawalpindi, to stop brutal violence and terror atrocities in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir(PoJK), Balochistan, Afghan territory where innocent civilians are being killed under the veil of counter-terrorism operations and in Kashmir. The day Pakistan evidently stops state-sponsored terrorism, ceases to kill innocent civilians in the name of counter-terrorism operations & halts false narratives, violence will end and diplomatic relations can be restored.
For example, just a few days ago, Pakistan escalated aerial strikes in the territory of Afghanistan and falsely claimed that it is a counter-terrorism operation and has killed 29 militants who were a threat to the country. However, the United Nations debunked the fake narratives of Islamabad and reiterated that it was not 29 militants, but 29 innocent civilians killed in Afghanistan. Thus, Islamabad conceals its terror activities & motives, beneath false narratives.
Meanwhile, India slammed Pakistan for “externalising its internal misdeeds” and upheld the sovereignty & territorial integrity of Afghanistan.
As the buzz about rigorous India-Pakistan Track-2 dialogue happening across various global locations surfaced, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, debunked any government or official connection with it. He said such meetings are private initiatives with no government involvement or backing. Such interactions are neither new nor recognised by the government, Foreign Secretary further added.
“I have seen the reports. I am aware of them. Dozens of these kinds of events take place in dozens of places around the world on a whole variety of subjects. So, there is nothing new, nothing special about these events. Secondly, as far as we are concerned, these are private events organised by private parties. There is nothing official about them as far as we are concerned. As far as the Government of India is concerned, there is no official participation, no official support or involvement in these visits”, Vikram Misri reiterated.
