(Image source from: indiatoday.in)

59 Nobel laureates have asked Narendra Modi and Imran Khan, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan to de-escalate the rising tensions

Those who have signed the appeal include Shirin Ebadi, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkol Karman, Muhammad Yunus, Malala Yousafzai, Jos Ramos-Horta, May-Britt Mose and  Edvard Ingjald Moser.

The letter was signed under the aegis of the Laureates and Leaders for Children, the platform founded by India’s Nobel peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

It was submitted to India and Pakistan’s Permanent Representatives to the United Nations on Saturday, it said.

“In the best interest of our children, we, the Laureates and Leaders for Children call upon the Prime Minister of India HE Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Pakistan HE Imran Khan to demonstrate wise leadership and exercise immediate restraint at this critical juncture, to avoid any escalation into a full-fledged war,”the statement reads.

“There is no place for violence, extremism and terrorism in a civilised world. This epidemic has to be uprooted through concrete and time-bound actions,” it said.

“We reiterate that children never create wars but are the worst sufferers. Therefore, we appeal to the two Prime Ministers, faith institutions, media, youth and the citizens of both India and Pakistan to work towards the restoration of peace in the region with utmost urgency,” it added.

“I reiterate that children are the worst sufferers of terrorism and war. The very fact that so many Nobel Laureates from different fields have come together demanding safety of children for the first time ever shows the urgency of the situation at hand,” Satyarthi said.

“I sincerely hope that the voice of the global moral leaders will be heard by the Prime Ministers and citizens of both India and Pakistan and immediate steps will be taken to defuse the tension between the two countries,” he said in Statement

-Sai Kumar