Can we still hope for peace?

A man carries a jerrycan on his shoulder with the signboard in the background in Chakothi Village on the Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Kashmir on May 2, 2025. — Reuters

Pakistan and India are at the brink of a full-blown war that can turn nuclear. Last night, India committed an act of war by launching missile attacks at nine different locations in Pakistan. The attacks killed 26 civilians, injuring 46.

Before this unprovoked attack, we were working on a story regarding the possibility of peace between both countries and spoke to people supporting peace on both sides. We have included the updated comments of our participants post Indian escalation.

Modi's hate-fuelled politics will 'backfire'

Former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, while sharing his opinion on the current situation, shared that "both countries reached a point where the situation doesn’t just affect our region, God forbid, if things get worse, the whole world might feel the consequences. I truly pray and hope that doesn’t happen."

He said that when two nuclear powers are involved, the stakes are too high to ignore. He believed that India must be held accountable for violating Pakistan’s sovereignty, including attacks on mosques that too without providing any credible evidence to justify their actions. On the other hand, Pakistan has presented clear evidence, particularly regarding Indian involvement in Baluchistan.

According to him, it was due to this transparency that the international community, including the US, withheld support for India during the crisis. India miscalculated, assuming its growing ties with the US — largely based on mutual concerns about China — would guarantee backing.

He pointed out that the kind of language coming out of India post-Pahalgam, especially from their television channels, was alarming. Channels have been acting more like war rooms than newsrooms.

He feels that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi might gain short-term political advantage from all this, but in the long run, it will hurt him. It will also damage the Indian government. He said that: "one might find it hard to believe, but if one looks closely, Modi has gained politically in India by targeting Muslims, Pakistan, and even Bangladesh. That’s how he keeps winning elections — by dividing people. But this kind of politics doesn’t last forever. It will eventually backfire.”

He laments that as a result of this dangerous path, Pakistan and India are on the brink of war, having already fought four wars. What could be more heartbreaking than that?

Talking about the possibility of peace, he said: "There was a time when Pakistan, India, and Kashmiris aligned on a basic four-point peace formula. But the rise of extreme nationalism under India’s BJP government has destroyed space for such understanding."

'Need strong push toward peace'

Veteran human rights activist Khawar Mumtaz believes that the situation is critical and must be addressed with care and responsibility. War or the threat of war is never a solution to any problem. Referring to the lack of investigation on India’s part over the Pahalgam incident and attacking Pakistani sites, she said, “Instead of immediately calling for war, they should have first investigated. Raising the call for conflict without clarity or evidence only increases instability in the region. This approach is not beneficial for anyone. We need a strong push toward peace.”

“Now people are angry that India attacked in the middle of the night, harming common people. We are not going anywhere with this, it only increases the danger of a war.”

A war that would endanger the lives of millions, and that is something we simply cannot afford. Dialogue and diplomacy must come first. There is no glory in rushing to war. We must focus our efforts on improving the situation and preventing further damage.

'War only benefits those making war machinery and weapons'

Veteran journalist Beena Sarwar, the co-founder of the South Asia Peace Action Network, sharing her opinion, said that, “War only benefits those who make war machinery and weapons. Whereas, it is the common people who get harmed by it. Pakistan and India are nuclear-armed countries, no one can win in this”

She further added that, “the current atmosphere gives an impression that there is no way but war. But it does not show the reality. If you ask any common man if he wants a war, he will say no. Everyone wants peace. They want their children to have enough to eat. They want a roof over their heads. They do not want to sleep hungry.”

She blamed the media for escalating the situation by consistently talking about war and making statements to instigate it.

She urged the governments of both countries to behave responsibly and urged the people of India and Pakistan to hold their governments accountable and resist any speech or actions that feed war hysteria.

From the other side of the border

Before India’s last night attacks on Pakistani areas, we had spoken to colleagues on the other side of the border to get their views on the possibility of peace. Here is what they had to share.

'Wars are solved on the table'

Indian journalist Ajay Shukla called the Pahalgam attack the murder of humanity and urged that those responsible for the attack, as a result of an investigation, must be punished. “If Pakistan’s involvement is proven in this, then it should be condemned and not do such things. If there is a conspiracy or any other involvement, they should also be punished”

He, however, did not believe that war can be the solution, as shown by history. He said: “Whenever there is a war in the world, in the end it is solved on the table. So, when it is solved on the table, then why not do it first?”

He said both countries should instead work for the development and welfare of the people in their respective parts of Kashmir.

He believes that things should move forward with love. Pakistan and India should both focus on development. The people do not want war. People who are in power want war, so that their government remains stable, their seats remain intact or it is those countries that sell weapons.

'Neither India nor Pakistan can afford to be in war'

Vijayan MJ, general secretary at the Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace and Democracy, termed the situation bad.

He said, “If Pahalgam is an act of terror carried out by people who are against the interest of civilians and peace, then there is no reason why India and Pakistan should fall into the trap of those people.”

He added that "it is important for both India and Pakistan to realise that whoever wants to spin this constant narrative of war is definitely not a friend of either because neither of the countries can afford to be in war economically or otherwise. We are not America, which can just trigger wars everywhere else in the world and sit comfortably at home. Because they don't have a war at home.”

India and Pakistan will be having a war at home. And being nuclear powers, it is absolutely uncalled for. So, the war hysteria that has been created means falling into the trap of people who are criminals, who want to terrorise people and this only helps their agenda.

He said, "If India's problem is that the Pakistani military is aiding terror activities in Kashmir, I think the first thing that India should be focusing on is to hold an international independent inquiry and prove the role of Pakistan. Otherwise, every time anything happens in India, we just keep dragging Pakistan's name and never even finish our inquiries well. After many of the terror attacks in the past, none of the inquiries and investigations have been publicised".

He lamented that some people are talking about war as if it is a great fun thing that everyone will watch from their television rooms. “It is not. War is one of the most bleeding things humanity has ever faced. Much worse than natural disasters.” So those propagating for war are against the interests of their own nations.

Developments post-May 6

After India’s attacks on Pakistan last night, Geo News tried to reach Shukla and Vijayan again. While we were unable to contact the former, the latter, in his text response, however, seemed disappointed at the latest developments.

He wrote that he has lost faith in anything the governments are saying now.

“I think this government will keep peace better than anyone else! Because they just need to keep misinforming everyone! The only target is appeasement of mass hysteria now! Our men sitting on WhatsApp university... are beginning to imagine phones that will look like guns, to give that war feeling! Next in business from China would be VR sets with terror sites strike!"

Truth indeed is the first victim in any conflict. For the sake of 1.75 billion people in the sub-continent, one can only hope peace would get a chance. Even when the situation looks gloomy.