Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit Rejects India-Pakistan Peace Dialogue

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit has denounced renewed calls for India-Pakistan peace talks, emphasizing that such dialogues ignore the reality of repeated terror attacks and loss of lives. He argues against the peace initiative by 117 citizens, stating engagement is neither possible nor desirable due to terrorism and past conflicts.

Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit has expressed strong opposition to renewed calls for dialogue between India and Pakistan, asserting that such proposals should be rejected in light of repeated terror attacks and loss of lives. Pandit responded critically to an open letter signed by 117 prominent citizens, urging restoration of peace and diplomatic communication.

"Every six months, intellectuals from both countries advocate for dialogue, but they have no right to discuss India-Pakistan friendship as they haven't suffered," Pandit told ANI. He emphasized the need to consider the perspective of families who lost members to terrorism from Pakistan.

Pandit accused a section of intellectuals of periodically advocating friendship despite ongoing aggression. Calling outreach to Pakistan an "act of weakness", he emphasized personal suffering from terrorism, citing the genocide experienced by the Kashmiri Pandit community. According to Pandit, dialogue proposals should be permanently dismissed as engagement with Pakistan is untenable.