Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit has strongly opposed renewed calls for India–Pakistan dialogue, saying such proposals should be outright rejected in view of repeated terror attacks and loss of lives. Responding to an open letter signed by 117 prominent individuals from India and Pakistan urging the revival of peace talks and diplomatic engagement between the two countries, Pandit criticised the initiative and its supporters.

He said that similar appeals for dialogue emerge periodically, driven by what he described as a recurring pattern among “intellectuals” in both countries. According to him, these groups repeatedly push for restoring ties and issuing calls for friendship between India and Pakistan. Pandit dismissed the latest letter, stating that those advocating for talks have no personal experience of the consequences of conflict.

He further argued that such matters should instead be discussed with families of security personnel who have lost their lives in terrorism-related incidents. He claimed Pakistan is responsible for these losses and questioned the credibility of those advocating reconciliation. Pandit also accused certain sections of intellectuals of persistently promoting the idea of friendship between the two nations, despite past incidents of violence. Referring to himself as a victim of terrorism, he cited the suffering of Kashmiri Pandits, calling it an example of what he described as “ethnic cleansing.”

He said that continued discussion on India–Pakistan friendship should be stopped permanently, adding that engagement with Pakistan is neither practical nor justified in his view. He further insisted that the proposal put forward by the signatories should be completely dismissed. The remarks come in response to an appeal signed by 61 Indians and 56 Pakistanis, including activists, academics, and public figures, who have called for restoring communication, peace, and normal diplomatic relations between the two countries after a prolonged period of strained ties.