UAE's Pakistani, Indian expats call for peace amid tensions

Dialogue only way forward, say expats concerned about military operations

- BY ASHFAQ AHMED Senior Assistant Editor SAJILA SASEENDRAN Chief Reporter

As military tensions between India and Pakistan simmer, expatriates from both countries living in the UAE are calling for peace, dialogue, and restraint.

India's missile attack in retaliation to April's Pahalgam terror attacks and Pakistan's vow to respond have raised anxieties among Indian and Pakistani expats in the UAE.

Many expatriates said they had been glued to their phones and television screens, watching developments that unfolded early yesterday. They hope for a swift end to the rising tension.

Open dialogue needed

“Both are nuclear states; they should talk to each other,” said Sardar Shabbir Khan, a Dubai-based Pakistani-American businessman.

Khan urged both governments to show restraint and engage in open dialogue, noting that “all wars end with dialogue — don’t waste lives and destroy economies.”

He criticised political grandstanding and military posturing, stressing the value of human life above all.