We, peace activists from India, Pakistan and elsewhere, categorically condemn every form of violent extremism and terrorism. 

We particularly condemn the targeting of unarmed civilians, for any reason, including as a means to achieve political ends.

This cycle must end for peace to prevail. Communal and faith-based politics feeding frenzy on both sides, amplified by media and social media, gives the illusion of a consensus for war. 

This loud warmongering puts tremendous pressure on governments and armed forces on both sides, as well as inciting the public. It has severely vitiated the political climate in Southasia*, fostering mistrust among citizens.

Sustainable peace requires a collective rejection of such divisive ideologies by the people of the region.

India and Pakistan must behave responsibly. Any war between these two nuclear-armed nations would be disastrous. As history shows, it is ordinary citizens who suffer the most in conflict, especially women, children, minorities, the elderly, and other vulnerable communities forced to prove their patriotism.

We therefore urge the people of India and Pakistan to hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or action that feeds war hysteria.

We strongly oppose any attempts to weaponize shared natural resources or historic bilateral agreements. Suspending longstanding agreements like the Indus Water Treaty (1960) or like the Shimla Accord (1972) would erode the basic framework of legality and civility in bilateral relations.

We call on all those who believe that peace, not war, is the way forward, to speak out against the politics of hate, violence, and vengeance, and to stand up for dialogue, cooperation, and a shared future of peace and co-existence.

*Why Southasia as one word? Because history, geography and shared struggles say so.

Initial signatories:

1. Dr. A.H. Nayyar, physicist, Lahore
2. Beena Sarwar, Journalist, filmmaker, Boston / Karachi
3. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physicist, Islamabad
4. Saeeda Diep, activist, Lahore
5. Tahira Abdullah, activist, Islamabad
6. Sheema Kermani, Cultural activist, Karachi
7. Dr. Riaz Sheikh, Historian, Karachi
8. M. Tahseen, Activist, Lahore 
9. Anand Patwardhan, Filmmaker, Mumbai
10. Lalita Ramdas, educationist, Hyderabad, Telangana
11. Dr. Sandeep Pandey, activist, Lucknow
12. Feroze Mithiborwala, Writer, Social Activist, Mumbai, India
13. Anuradha Bhasin, journalist, Jammu
14. Kanak Mani Dixit, Journalist, Kathmandu
15. Arundhati Dhuru, Activist, Lucknow 
16. Khawar Mumtaz, Activist, Lahore
17. Laxmi Murthy, Journalist, Bangalore
18. Dr. Syeda Hameed, activist, Delhi
19. Asad Faruqi, Artist/Filmmaker, Karachi / Brooklyn, NY
20. Badre Alam, Social and political activist, Siddharth Nagar, Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh
21. Dilip D’Souza, writer, Bombay
22. Pragyan Srivastava, Journalist, Boston/Delhi
23. Ram Puniyani, Peace worker, Mumbai
24. Sameera Khan, Journalist/Researcher, Mumbai
25. Col. Pavan Nair, Indian citizen, Pune
26. Siraj Khan, Board Chair, Society for Youth Boston
27. Marvi Sirmed, journalist/peace activist (Pakistani-Washington, D.C.)
28. Vinod Mubayi, Co-editor Insaf Bulletin, New York
29. Vishal Sharma, Researcher/Peace Activist, Coventry
30. Dolores Chew, College professor, Montreal
31. Dr. Jatinder Maan, Punjab
32. Dr. A. Giridhar Rao, World Esperanto Association
33. Prabir, Doctor, West Bengal
34. Sandhya Gokhale, feminist activist, Mumbai
35. Ms. Sharmeela de Vas, Mumbai
36. Sneha Jayaraj, Attorney, New York City / Kerala
37. Sushovan Dhar, Activist, Kolkata
38. Suraj Budathoki, New Hampshire State Representative, Manchester NH
39. Shahzad Irshad, Author, Oxford/Manchester
40. Verdah Kazi, Psychotherapist, Brooklyn/Karachi
41. Varsha, teacher, civic society activist, bengaluru
42. Himanshu Gupta, Child protection Social Worker, Ferozepur 
    
43.    Guddi S L, Social Political Activist, Mumbai
44. Satya Talwar, Retired professor, Delhi
45. Rajashri Dasgupta, Independent Journalist, Kolkata
46. Bobby Abraham, Creator, Kerala
47. Sushil Khanna, Professor (Retd) IIM Calcutta, Kolkata
48. Rajesh Ramakrishnan, Independent researcher and activist, Chennai
49. Purnesh Joshi, Software Engineer, Mumbai/Pune 
50. Majid nasrullah, Musician, Bangalore  
51. SandhyaRoy, Journalist, India
52. Vishal,  Engineer, Mumbai
53. Samita Kaur, Environmentalist, Punjab
54. Harsh Kapoor, Editor, Mainstream, Montpellier
55. Susan, Retired, Bangalore
56. Jyothi, Art facilitator, Chennai
57. Nityanand Jayaraman, journalist/social activist, Chennai
58. Sandhya Srinivasan, Journalist / researcher, Mumbai
59. Sagari Ramdas, Veterinary Scientist, Hyderabad, India
60. Dr Ashok Kumar Somal, Retired IFS officer, Kangra HP
61. SUNIL MICHAEL CALEB, Professor, KOLKATA
62. Ms Foqia Sadiq Khan, Social Scientist, Islamabad
63. Navin, Independent, Hyderabad 
64. V.Priya, Community facilitator, Tirupathi
65. Rajeev Raj R, Independent Film maker, New Delhi 
66. Prajit Basu, Hyderabad
67. Ansloyd Gomes, Artist, Goa/London
68.    Siddhartha Mitra, Programmer NYC
69. Aditya P, Designer, Pune
70. Abhayraj Naik, Educator and Researcher, Bengaluru / Sri City
71. John D'Souza, Consultant, Mumbai
72. Ajin K Thomas, Schoolteacher, Chennai
73. Ishan A., Ecologist, Goa
74. John Dayal, Writer, Delhi
75. Sadeqa Siddiqui, Activist, Montreal .
76. Swathi, PhD scholar, Bengaluru
77. SUMAN BASU, Teacher, Kolkata
78. Pooja Nirala, Labour Rights Activist, Guwahati
79. Stella James, Researcher, Bengaluru
80. Apoorva Kulkarni, Scientist/ Artist,  Mumbai/ Oxford
81. Niya Tapo, Indigenous Climate researcher, Arunachal Pradesh, Roing
82. Manish Kumar, Student, Araria
83. Mohammed Ahmed Khan, Social activist, Lucknow
84. Sehjo singh, Climate Convener, Delhi/Udaipur
85. Philip Pinto, Brother, Chandigarh
86. Pradeep Ghosh, Social Worker, Bhopal
87. Bhagwan Awaghade, Core member Rashtriya Dharmnirpekshta Aandolan and Ambedkarite propagating constitutional human values, Satara
88. Ela Gandhi, Retired Social worker/ political activist,  Durban South Africa
89. Shubhranshu Choudhary, Journalist, Delhi
90. Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai
91. Mubashira Patel, Student, Intern, Mumbai
92. Amjad M Syed, Director sales and operations, Bangalore
93. Shweta Damle, Peace Activist, Mumbai
94. Tripta Batra, Creative Educator; Writer, Delhi NCR
95. Soumya Dutta, Educator - Researcher - Knowledge activist
    Delhi NCR
96. Madhavi Swamy-Peters, Rural livelihoods, Kashmir/ Ladakh/ Bangalore
97. Rahul Banerjee, Social Activist, Indore
98. Ravinder Pal Singh, Academic Activist, Gurugram
99. harshad tayade, Student of International Relations, Mumbai
100. Ammu Abraham, Activist, on women's rights and civil liberties,
     Mumbai
101. Smita Ramanathan, Freelancer, Thrissur
102. GOVARDHAN RAO PANCHINENI, Businessman, Hyderabad
103. Nityanand Jayaraman, Journalist/social activist, Chennai
104. Amna Yameen, Researcher/Activist, Islamabad and Hamilton (NZ)
105. Abhishek Taneja, Sustainability Promoter, Solan
106. Nishtha Jain, Filmmaker, Mumbai
107. Guru, Concerned Citizen, Bengaluru
108. Krithika, Psychologist / Activist, Bangalore
109. Jugal Hatila, कृषि, Nokha ( bikaner)
110. Komal, Activist, Maharashtra
111. Sangeetha, self employed, Mysore
112. Mohammad Imran, Retired, Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA
113. Rutuja, I/O psychologist, Pune
114. Saravanan V.,  Ph.D. Student, New Delhi
115. Rukmini Iyer, Peacebuilder, Mumbai, India
116. Nasreen Rehman, peace activist/historian, Cambridge UK
117. Ashka Naik, Researcher/Activist, Boston/India
118. Dr. Ayesha Jalal, historian, Medford MA

NOTE: This appeal is based on a statement endorsed at an online meeting between Indians and Pakistanis on Wednesday 7 May, convened by Dr. Sandeep Pandey of the Socialist Party of India. The meeting was full to capacity (100) before it started and volunteers had to leave to allow speakers to enter. We met for over 2 hours, shared views and information. It became clear that what is happening is a mirror image on either side – the censorship, hyper-nationalism, and casualties. Ordinary people on either side WANT PEACE NOT WAR. 

We agreed that the situation is untenable. We have to keep coming together and raising our voices to urge the leaders to de-escalate. 

Posted to Change.org by Sapan, the Southasia Peace Action Network, on behalf of the civil society individuals and organisations involved.