New Delhi: A group of over 100 prominent citizens from India and Pakistan have written an open letter to the prime ministers of both the countries, urging them to take meaningful and sustained steps towards restoring peace, normalcy, dialogue and cooperation between the two neighbours.The letter, issued by the ‘Centre for Peace and Progress’ and dated Tuesday (June 30), has 117 signatories, who have called for an end to continued hostility. The citizens said that the hostility between the two countries is depriving millions of young people of both sides of opportunities, prosperity and a secure future, reported Indian Express.The signatories include significant political and diplomatic figures. From the Indian side, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, former Trinamool Congress TMC minister and current Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) leader Humayun Kabir are among the 61 signatories on the letter.The signatories the Pakistan’s side include former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, National Assembly member Isphanyar Bhandara in addition to nuclear physicist and author Pervez Hoodbhoy.“India and Pakistan together are home to nearly one-fifth of humanity. A large proportion of our population is young…The people of both countries deserve a future defined by peace, development, connectivity and cooperation, rather than perpetual mistrust and confrontation,” said the letter.“Decades of estrangement has hindered our collective potential and imposed significant social, economic and human costs. We believe that sustained engagement and dialogue remain the only viable path to resolving differences and building a stable and prosperous region,” the letter added.The signatories from both the countries have also suggested fully reopening the Attari-Wagah land border for trade and travel, resuming the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service among other connectivity initiatives. They have sought for reopening airspace for commercial airlines to reduce travel time and costs and improve connectivity.The letter also seeks to urge reopening the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor as an important confidence-building measure and the opening of Sharada Peeth – a sacred religious place of Kashmiri Pandits – located in Pakistan’s Neelum Valley.“This appeal is not an endorsement of any political position. It is a call to place the welfare, aspirations and future of nearly two billion people above conflict, confrontation, and division. We believe that peace, dialogue and cooperation offer the surest path towards a stable, prosperous and secure South Asia,” added the letter.