Fai welcomes recent push in India for dialogue with Pakistan, insisting Kashmiris' inclusion in any peace process

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th May, 2026) A prominent Kashmiri leader has described the emerging voices within India calling for resumption of the stalled dialogue with Pakistan as a 'significant political signal", but stressed that Kashmiris must be a part of any peace process between two nuclear-armed nations.

"The recent comments indicate that some influential voices in New Delhi may finally be acknowledging a fundamental reality: there is no military solution to the Kashmir dispute," Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Chairman of the Washington-based World Forum for Peace & Justice, said in a statement.

He was commenting on the statements made in favour of a dialogue with Pakistan from the Secretary General of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Dattatreya Hosabale, that was followed by former Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who said that friendship between people can ultimately foster friendship between the two neighbours.

"Equally important", Fai added, "was the response from Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, who insisted that Kashmir itself must remain central to any meaningful peace process."

RSS' Hosabale was the first to push for a dialogue with Pakistan, saying, “we should not shut the doors completely”. Coming from the ideological mentor of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, the remarks carried profound political meaning.

"Hosabale’s emphasis on maintaining diplomatic channels and encouraging civil society engagement reflects a growing realization within influential circles in India that perpetual hostility between two nuclear-armed neighbours is neither sustainable nor productive," Fai said, noting that his statement was quickly endorsed by General Mukund Naravane. who observed that friendship between people can ultimately foster friendship between nations.

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While welcoming the calls for dialogue, Ms. Mufti insisted that Kashmir itself must remain central to any meaningful peace process.

"These developments may appear modest, but in the highly polarized political climate of South Asia, they are noteworthy,", he said, noting that the statements were made at a time when any suggestion of engagement with Pakistan was often dismissed in India as politically risky or strategically weak.

India, Fai said, has maintained an enormous military presence in Kashmir for decades, but repeated crackdowns, prolonged detentions, and extensive security operations, the conflict remains unresolved. "The persistence of the unrest demonstrates that military dominance cannot substitute for political legitimacy or public consent.

"The importance of the RSS statement, therefore, lies not only in its immediate diplomatic implications but in the broader possibility that saner and more pragmatic minds may be gaining influence in India’s policy discourse."

At the same time, Fai pointed out that bilateral there have been countless rounds of negotiations between New Delhi and Islamabad since 1948, "Yet the core dispute persists because the principal stakeholders — the people of Jammu & Kashmir — were never meaningfully represented in those negotiations."

"When India and Pakistan speak without Kashmiris, the discussions remain incomplete," he said, adding, "Likewise, internal dialogues within Kashmir that exclude Pakistan cannot address the broader regional dimensions of the dispute."

In this regard, Fai called for courage, realism, and inclusivity, saying, "Any future engagement — whether through formal diplomacy, track-two initiatives, civil society contacts, or quiet diplomacy — must include authentic representatives of the Kashmiri people."