From Missiles To Medicine: Doctors From India & Pakistan Call For Peace Via Medical Journal

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The opinion piece, published on May 28 in The BMJ, notes that the latest tensions were sparked by the killing of Indian tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 and other acts of terror
As tensions simmer between India and Pakistan, a group of leading doctors from both countries has made a rare joint appeal—not from political podiums, but from hospital corridors. In a co-authored article published in the peer-reviewed medical journal The BMJ, doctors have called for peace, reason, and a shift in priorities from weapons to public welfare.
Published on May 28, the opinion piece, written by leading paediatricians and health experts from both India and Pakistan, has urged the two nuclear-armed neighbours to prioritise peace and cooperation over conflict and hostility.
'As medical professionals, we are dismayed at this turn of events and its potential consequences, which will affect many generations," states the article, titled 'Stepping back from the brink: time for reason and rapprochement between India and Pakistan". The article is authored by eleven Indian and Pakistani doctors who had gathered from all over the world in Mexico City at the biennial International Congress of Paediatrics, while tensions between India and Pakistan had escalated, causing concern.
In Mexico City, the authors highlighted the challenges that India and Pakistan face in public health, social determinants of health, climate change, environmental issues, and enormous gaps in health and development equity that need to be closed.
'Despite this harsh reality, both countries, irrespective of the relative size of their economies, spend a disproportionate amount on their military and nuclear arsenals," they wrote. 'Notwithstanding the human costs of the conflict, the costs of the missiles and drones lobbed at each other and the damage in the five days after 7 May 2025 easily ran into billions of dollars. We wonder what could have been achieved had this money been used for public health in either country."
However, the article acknowledges that the latest round of tensions was triggered by the killing of Indian tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 and other acts of terrorism.
Top experts from India co-authoring the article include Dr Srinath Reddy, Dr Sanjay Nagral of Jaslok Hospital, Dr Neelam Mohan of Medanta, Dr Rajeev Seth of Bal Umang Drishya Sanstha, Dr Monica Thomas of Holy Family Hospital, and Samiran Nundy of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The remaining authors are Pakistani experts based in Lahore and Karachi.
'Pakistan has been mired in economic and political crises for the past several years and faces a major insurgency in its border regions with Afghanistan," the article points out, while highlighting, 'Although India may have an economy tenfold larger, it also faces continuing challenges of interstate and urban-rural inequalities in development."
Overall, health experts believe that both countries face the growing challenge of climate change, the environmental crisis, and dwindling water security for their burgeoning populations. Against this backdrop, they wrote, 'persistent conflict and threats of a nuclear conflagration are major impediments to development."
'India and Pakistan spend between 2.4% and 2.8% of their GDP on defence ($80 and $39 per capita, respectively), amounts that neither can afford. In contrast, expenditures on health range from 3.3% to 2.9% of respective GDP, and one-fifth of the population in both countries lives in poverty," the article states.
Child mortality rates in both countries are far higher than their counterparts in other regions, and rates of childhood and adolescent undernutrition are among the highest in the world.
'India and Pakistan face enormous problems related to climate change and air pollution, and the emerging challenge of non-communicable diseases," it says.
The article also mentions the recently agreed Pandemic Treaty, which delves into surveillance systems and early warning mechanisms. This treaty requires close coordination, but, it states, 'they are information systems that both countries ignore at their peril."
'The benefits of peace between the countries of South Asia and its people are huge, and there is no alternative to a political resolution of bilateral problems. If used properly and in the right hands, science, communication technology, and development paradigms can bridge many divides and promote dialogue and constructive discourse," the article says.
Appeal to Governments
The authors criticised the rise of jingoism and misinformation that fuels hatred and prevents rational debate.
'We urge professional bodies, civic society representatives, and academia in India and Pakistan to initiate a path toward peace," they say. 'We must activate formal and facilitatory platforms for scientific and cultural exchanges and focus on common tangible solutions related to climate, environment, water security, and child rights. Persistent tensions and insecurity only worsen the intergenerational cycle of poverty, illiteracy, poor living conditions, and human development. As paediatricians and healthcare professionals, we raise our collective voices against conflict and its consequences. We owe this to our people and future generations."
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tags :
defence Doctor health Pahalgam pakistan terror
Location :
New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
June 04, 2025, 08:00 IST