Nobel Peace Prize winners Kailash Satyarthi, Malala Yousafzai call for better Indo-Pak ties

New Delhi: Friday marked a momentous day in the history of India and Pakistan when two of their child rights activists - Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai, respectively - won the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize 2014.

The joint award could not have come at a more opportune time. The month of October had been especially grim for India and Pakistan over the ceasefire violations which resulted in heavy civilian casualties on both sides.

The Nobel committee acknowledged in its citation that the Peace award was for "a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism".

Thanking the committee for choosing her and Satyarthi, Malala said the award was a step towards building peaceful ties between India and Pakistan.

"I had a phone call with Kailash Satyarthi. We will try to build strong relation between India and Pakistan. The situation on the border is not good nowadays. I want both the countries to have dialogue. I would request both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to join us when we receive the award," she said at a press conference in Birmingham, UK.

Satyarthi echoed Malala's sentiments. "I know her (Malala) personally. I will ask her that besides our fight for child rights and education for children, particularly for girls, we have to go a step further and work for peace in our sub-continent. For India and Pakistan, it is very important that our children are born and live in peace," Satyarthi said.

Both Satyarthi and Malala have been spearheading campaigns for child rights in India and Pakistan, respectively.

Satyarthi has been running the Bachpan Bachao Andolan which has rescued lakhs of children from forced labour in a number of states including Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Delhi. He is the eighth Indian to win a Nobel Prize.

Malala, on the other hand, shot into limelight after Taliban terrorists pumped bullets into her on October 9, 2012, for advocating education for girls. At 17, she has become the youngest Nobel laureate ever.