About

Aman ki Asha is a campaign for peace between India and Pakistan, jointly initiated by the Jang Group of Pakistan and The Times of India Group. The words Aman ki Asha mean ‘hope for peace’. Aman is an Urdu word, meaning peace. Asha is a Hindi word, meaning hope. The combination of the two languages reflects the collaborative spirit of this initiative.
AKA attempts to push the peace process through a three pronged strategy: facilitate a fair and equitable resolution of all disputes through dialogue, strongly advocate economic collaboration as the single most powerful driver of the peace process and increased cultural exchanges through greater people to people contacts.

The AKA campaign is seen as a game changer not only because it has captured the imagination of the people of the two countries by giving voice to their opinion, but also because of its many practical achievements: it has brought the business communities of Pakistan and India closer by holding two of the biggest ever economic conferences.

Attended by top govt functionaries, business icons and senior leaders of political parties, these conferences articulated the benefits of economic collaboration and mapped the strategy and direction for taking it forward. AKA has conducted independent, identical surveys in both countries which showed the overwhelming desire of the people of both countries for resolution of disputes and normalization of relations.

AKA has tackled difficult and contentious issues in a transparent and effective manner. By openly and rigorously discussing the Pakistani, Indian and global view on the water, Siachin, Sir Creek and Kashmir disputes, it has facilitated greater understanding of the complex issues as well as a better appreciation of each other’s point of view between the governments and peoples of India and Pakistan.

Within Pakistan and India, Aman ki Asha can be credited with initiating a sea change in perceptions of the people of the two countries. The Jang Group and the Times of India had independent surveys conducted prior to launching Aman ki Asha, and on its first anniversary. The survey results indicated that every single negative perception had declined, and that all positive perceptions had increased. Polls revealed that 87% of Pakistanis and 74% of Indians felt that the Aman ki Asha campaign had helped create greater awareness about the core issues between India in Pakistan. The threat perception had gone down by over 20% in both countries. The brand recall of Aman ki Asha campaign was 94%. Most significantly, two thirds of people polled felt that peace was attainable in their lifetime, up 35% from the previous year.

The results of the Aman ki Asha surveys, as well as detailed information about events and
media campaigns, is available at our website at www.amankiasha.com