Malala asks Imran, Modi to show 'true leadership by engaging in dialogue'

Urges settlement of the long-standing Kashmir issue through talks

Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to "show true leadership" by reaching a settlement through dialogue to end the rising tensions between the nuclear armed nations.

In a statement, she implored the leaders of both the nations to settle the long-standing Kashmir issue through engaging in dialogue.

#SayNoToWar pic.twitter.com/yNfRIh5jRw

— Malala Yousafzai (@Malala) February 27, 2019

"As a Nobel Laureate, UN Messenger of Peace, a citizen of Pakistan and a student, I am alarmed by the escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan - and concerned for people living on both sides of the border," she said.



"Citizens of both countries know that the true enemies are terrorism, poverty, illiteracy and health crises – not each other."

The youngest Nobel laureate said that all those aware of the horrors of war "agree that retaliation and revenge is never the right response – once started, it rarely ends."

Malala asked the international community to support talks between the two nations in order to "help prevent loss of lives and homes".

The Pakistani military on Wednesday announced it has shot down two Indian fighter jets that had attempted to violate Pakistan’s airspace once again and has captured a pilot.

The military’s media wing later released a video of the pilot, who introduced himself as Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman bearing the service number 27981.

The development came a day after the country’s civil and military leadership declared the violation of airspace by Indian fighter jets “uncalled for aggression” and decided that the country would respond at the “time and place of its choosing”.