In a joint calling attention petition, the signatories have urged India and Pakistan for Resumption of Ceasefire and cession of hostilities on the LoC
In a joint calling attention petition, that carried the joint datelines of Jammi and Rawalkot in POK, over 130 eminent citizens of the divided State of Jammu and Kashmir urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to resume ceasefire along the Line of Control and begin the process of dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue by including all the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This initiative was led by two eminent civil society activists across the LoC; Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor, daily Kashmir Times, Jammu and Ershad Mahmud, Executive Director, Center for Peace, Development and Reforms.
The petition has already gained momentum and people are coming together in a significant number to take ownership of this initiative. It so far has got signatures from various senior political leaders, poets, authors, journalists, civil society activists, former civil servants, ex-diplomats and army personnel, as well as people from the academia.
The petition pronounces that if current tension at the borders is allowed to prolong, it will jeopardize the stability of the region and might escalate into an all-out war. Besides, the skirmishes at the LoC augment the sufferings of the people residing not just near the border areas, but eventually of the entire population of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State.
It also raises concern and anxiety regarding the mushrooming growth of radical elements and war mongers in India and Pakistan who exploit the situation on LoC to promote hatred between the two countries. The petition claimed that the ongoing spate of violence would sanction the war mongers on both sides. It also urges the political leadership in New Delhi and Islamabad to impress upon their respective militaries for bringing an immediate end to this continuum of shelling and firing.
The organisers have stated that the petition would be soon online for further signatures and support. Those who signed the petition include Chaudhary Latif Akbar, President Pakistan People’s Party AJK; Justice (Retd.) Hasnain Masoodi, Srinagar; ex-vice-chancellor Siddiq Wahid; Neerja Mattoo, writer and educationist; Farooq Nazki, poet; authors Mir Khalid and Badri Raina; Shujaat Bukhari, Editor Rising Kashmir, Srinagar, Dr Nitasha Kaul, writer and academic, Mr. Ghulam Murtza, President Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mirpur; ; Justice Syed Sharif Hussain Bokhari, Lahore; Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Kapil Kak; Dr. Toqeer Gillani, Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front; Mr. Abdul Khaliq Wasi, Member Kashmir Council, Pakistan Muslim League (N); Shakeel Qalandhar and Mubeen Shah of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Ambassador Arif Kamal and Shaheen Kausar Dar, ex-Deputy Speaker, AJK Assembly.
Here is the text of the joint petition:
Petition to End Tensions at LOC
To,
Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi
Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Dear Sirs,
We, the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, have been observing with great concern and most profound anguish, the escalation of tensions at the LoC that have been building up gradually since 2017 and have suddenly taken a violent turn of events since the first week of Jan 2018.
We are distressed at the cycle of violence in Jammu and Kashmir that results in sufferings and loss of lives for all sides. In particular, we are concerned about the safety and security of people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those living at the LoC who are directly hit by the frequent incidents of shelling and firing in the region.
These repeated violations of the ceasefire which had been in place since 2003, as a part of an agreement between India and Pakistan, have been adversely affecting people residing in proximity to the LoC.
We fear that if these tensions at the borders are allowed to prolong, it will jeopardise the stability of the region and it might turn into a full-scale war.
We apprehend that this will intensify and augment the sufferings of the people residing not just near the border areas, but eventually of the entire erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Besides, this ongoing spate of violence will provide more significant space to extremist, hawkish and fanatic elements in the society as well as empower the war mongers on both sides.
We call for an immediate end to the hostilities on the Line of Control and the atrocities inflicted on the innocent people of Jammu and Kashmir. We urge upon the political leadership in New Delhi and Islamabad to impress upon their respective militaries for bringing an immediate end to this continuum of shelling and firing.
We also urge them to observe the sanctity of the ceasefire and begin the process of dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue by including all the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Our voices must be heard!
Signatures
1. Anuradha Bhasin, Peace Activist and Executive Editor,Kashmir Times
2. Mr. Ershad Mahmud, Columnist and Executive Director Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR), Rawalakot, AJK
3. Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi
4. Ghulam Rasool Sufi
5. Badri Raina
6. Mohammad Sayeed Malik, Srinagar
7. Nighat Pandit
8. Shafi Pandit
9. Prabodh Jamwal
10. Siddiq Wahid
11. Gowhar Fazili
12. Ellora Puri
12. Ezabir Ali
13. Effat Wani
14. Prof. Gull Mohd Wani
15. Zahid G. Mohammed
16. Gazalla Amin
17. Ajaz Rashid
18. Poonam Singh
19. Shujaat Bukhari, editor Rising Kashmir, Srinagar
20. Syeda Afshana
21. Saleem Beg
22. Aqsa Agha
23. Bashir Manzar, Journalist
24. Abdul Majid Zargar
25. Arshad Andrabi
26. Shafat N Ahmad
27. Vanessa Chisti
28. Ramesh Mehta
29. Manik Sharma
30. Shazana Andrabi
31. Neerja Mattoo
32. Dr Nitasha Kaul, Writer and Academic
33. Mir Khalid
34. A.V. Gupta
35. Farooq Nazki
36. Asma Khan Lone
37. Nayeema Ahmad Mehjoor
38. Hameedah Bano
39. Randheer Kaur
40. Marvi Slathia
41. Syed Salma Jameel
42. Aleem Baigh
43. Zafar Choudhary
44. Carin Jodha Fischer
45. Syed Abid Hussain Gowhar
46. Cathleen Kaur
47. Annil Suri
48. Suvir Kaul
49. Rahat Kami
50. Anjum Naqash
51. Inam-un-Nabi
52. Mushtaq ul haq Ahmad Sikander, Writer-Activist and convenor civil society for justice and development
53. Sahil Maqbool
54. Indu Kilam
55. Sheikh Sameer
56. Sadaf Munshi
57. Salman Niami
58. Nadeem Qadri
59. Mantasha Binti Rashid
60. Ayaz Rasool Nazki
61. Dr. Noor Ahmad Baba, Dean School of Social Science, Central University of Kashmir
62. Dr Altaf Hussain
63. M.G. Hassan Mukhtar
64. Amit Bamai
65. Badrunissa Bhat
66. Gurmeet Kaur
67. Dr. Raminder Jit Singh
68. Er. S.D. Shangloo
69. Nighat Hafiz
70. Komal GB Singh
71. Mir Suhail
72. Murtaza Shibli
73. Narjees Nawab
74. Raja Muzaffar Bhat
75. Sohail Iqbal
76. Ruheed GUl
77. Syed B. Qadri
78. Masood Hussain, artist
79. Jyoti Mathur
80. Fahad Shah
81. Subaya Yasmeen
82. Jehangir Ali
83. Sardar Anwar
84. Mr. Ghulam Murtza, President Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mipur, AJK
85. Ms. Shagufta Ashraf, Lecture University of Kotli Azad Jammu and Kashmir
86. Raja Kafil Ahmed Khan, Chairman Kashmir Newspaper editors Council, AJK
87. Sardar Qaiser Khan, Commonwealth Professional Fellow, Rawalakot, AJK
88. Ms. Ammara Durrani, Social Scientist Islamabad, Pakistan
89. Mr. Murtaza Durrani, Ex-Information and Media Advisor to Prime Minister, AJK
90. Mr. Abdul Khaliq Wasi, Member AJK Council, AJK
91. Syed Sharif Hussain Bokhari. Former MLA, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, presently resident of Lahore, Pakistan
92. Mrs. Rukhsana Khan, Assistant Prof. University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad
93. Chaudhary Latif Akbar, President Peoples Party, AJK
94. Ambassador (R ) Arif Kamal, Islamabad
95. Mr. Shams Rehman, Researcher, Writer, TV Anchor, Manchester, UK
96. Syed Arif Bahar, author, columnist, Muzaffarabad, AJK
97. Mr. Amar Jahangir, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, AJK
98. Dr. N. Seema Jogezai, President Women Welfare Organization (WWO), Islamabad
99. Mr. Muhammad Shakeel, Broadcast Journalist, Mipur, AJK
100.Sardar Kazeem Khan, President Cross-LoC Trade Union, Poonch, AJK
101.Dr. Waqas Ali Kausar, National University of Modern Language, Islamabad
102.Ms. Shaheen Kausar Dar, Ex-Deputy Speaker, AJK Assembly
103.Ms. Farzana Yaqoob, Ex-Minister of AJK Government, Rawalakot, AJK
104.Dr Shaheen Akhtar, Associate Prof, National Defence University, Islamabad
105.Mr. Waqas Idress Mughal, PhD candidate at National Defense University, Islamabad
106. Tariq Masud, former Ombudsman /Additional Chief Secretary, AJK
107. Mr Justice (r) Azam Khan, former Chief Justice Supreme Court of AJK
108. Professor Ms. Saleema Atta, former-Dean Azad Jammu and Kashmir University
109. Dr. Mosin Shakeel, Professor of Urology , Medical College , Muzaffarabad
110. Agha Sajjad Hussain, Development Consultant, Mirpur
111. Ambassador (r) Ishtiaq H. Andrabi, Islamabad
112. Mr. Jalaludin Mughal, Neelum Valley
113. Mr. Altaf Hameed Rao, Mirpur
114. Mr. Shaukat Majeed Malik, Mirpur
115. Sardar Abid Siddiq, editor daily Dharti, Rawalakot
116. Prof Parvaiz Majeed
117. Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Kapil Kak
118. Mubeen Shah
119. Shakeel Qalander
120. Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool
121. Ruchika Raina, Ladakh
122. Chaudhary Ilyas Advocate, Kotli
123. Mr. Zulfiqar Abbasi, Founder President Jammu and Kashmir Joint Chamber of Commerce and industry, Bagh, AJK
124. Aditya Gupta
125. Muhammad Siddique Chaughtia, Social activist, Bagh, AJK
126. Ms. Rahmat Kamal Ghanghro, Attorney-at-Law, Islamabad