Take Immediate Steps to stop war and resume dialogue: Concerned citizens of Ludhiana

Ludhiana, February 27, 2019: “We the concerned citizens gathered under the aegis of Lok Surakhiya Manch Ludhiana strongly condemn terrorist attack at Pulwama in which our brave soldiers were martyred. We stand by their families in this hour of grief,” said Prof Jagmohan Singh, Dr Arun Mitra, Prof Jaipal Singh, Jaswant Singh Zeerakh, M S Bhatia, Prof. A K Maleri, Charan Sarabha, Ramesh Rattan , Gurnam Sidhu and others.
They added, “We are much perturbed at the escalation of tension and the ongoing air battles. The Low intensity conflict could turn into large scale war. In such a situation, use of nuclear weapons cannot be ruled out. The use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic and mutually assured destruction. Even the conventional warfare between India and Pakistan would cost heavily on lives and the exchequer and adversely affect our already deprived people.”
Further, they said, “We are firm in our opinion that terrorist violence has to be curbed collectively. Only a concerted ideological battle based on secularism, democracy & respect for each other’s sovereignty and solving people’s issues can lead to lasting solution.”
They said the internal security can only be assured in such a period of crisis by strengthening the peace and cooperation at ground level, isolating the elements who provoke hatred against one or other communities. So we appeal for strengthening peace and mutual trust at local level.