There are a bunch of mainstream public figures (as well as journalists or diplomats) who I think all have mainstream credibility (I mean the common man) on either side of border. These are also what you would consider relatively less hawkish on Indo-Pak relations.
Pervez Hoodbhoy
My first pick is Pervez Hoodbhoy, a PhD from MIT and professor of Physics at Quaid i Azam University in Islamabad, and a voice against nuclear arms race, generally speaks out against Pakistan's support of terrorism.
Professor Hoodbhoy writes a lot, is an invited speaker at fora in the US and India, is a very respected researcher, and in my opinion holds a lot of credibility primarily due to his honesty in criticizing Pakistan (which of course the hawks in Pakistan don't like) as well as sincere push for Pakistan toeing the path of progress. YouTube carries a lot of videos, mostly talkshows in Pakistani television. There is a recent talkshow that he participated in with Mani Shankar Aiyar, hosted by Barkha Dutt.
G Parthasarathy
Parthasarathy is an IFS officer, has been a consul general at Karachi, and is considered somewhat of a 'hawk'.
Other than that, I know very little about G Parthasarathy and his views, mostly gained from his appearances on Indian television shows.
Parthasarathy is now a fellow at at least two think tanks.
Hassan Nisar
Hassan Nisar is a personal favourite.
Nisar is a long-time journalist, doesn't appear to mince his words in taking on the establishment in Pakistan, and is a frequent participant on television talk shows in Pakistan. He even appears on his own weekly show in Urdu called 'Meray Mutabiq'.
Nisar's views are largely well known to the public, and he has fans from both countries. His father migrated to Lahore (or was it Lyallpur?) from Jalandhar, and Nisar's fondness for east Punjab is very apparent. When he breaks into Punjabi, it's really sounds wonderful..
I consider Nisar a 'dove' given his push for normalization of ties between the two countries, and prodding the Pakistani establishment to look inward to solve its problems instead of blaming outside 'forces'. Nisar is also for 'letting go' Kashmir so Pakistan can focus on bettering its existing citizenry.
You will find a lot of Hassan Nisar videos on YouTube, and they are usually very entertaining.
Mani Shankar Aiyar
Mani Shankar Aiyar is well known, a former IFS officer, consul general at Karachi, was on the East Pakistan desk (later the Bangladesh desk), and has been a cabinet minister in Congress governments.
It's tough to find someone with experience being both a diplomat and a politician. Although he was close to Rajiv Gandhi (who brought him into politics), he seems to have lost favour with the present Gandhi family.
Mani Shankar is a 'dove' and has good credibility in Pakistan. I'm not sure I agree with his views, but he's definitely an honest and experienced voice.
KC Singh
KC Singh is an experienced diplomat, most recently the secretary of the ministry of external affairs at retirement. KC Singh has never served in Pakistan, but has been ambassador to Iran, so definitely understands the regional dynamics well.
I've seen him appear on television talk shows recently, and like his observations and views.
I think he's neither a 'hawk' nor a 'dove' but lies somewhere inbetween which is wonderful from a 'credibility on both sides' perspective.
Najam Sethi
Najam Sethi is another of my favourites in Pakistan. He's a Punjabi, educated at Cambridge, has a lot of contacts in, and ground-level experience in India, and enjoys a lot of patronage from think tanks and organizations in the West, especially the US.
He appears in a weekly (?) television talk show on Geo TV in Pakistan, and his views and observations are usually well researched. Except when the discussion is on regional politics in Pakistan, his shows are very interesting to the average Indian audience.
Sethi appears occasionally on Indian talk shows and is very comfortable in Urdu as well as English.
He has run into rough weather with politicians in Pakistan in the past, adding to his credibility, but appears to be well connected ('najam sethi ki chidiya').
Siddharth Varadarajan
Siddharth Varadarajan has been a journalist for a long time, including during the Taliban era and the NATO war in Yugoslavia. He has taught at LSE (?) and Columbia University.
Most recently, Varadarajan became the editor of The Hindu (certainly better than N Ram). I've seen him in talk shows that included participants from both countries, and he did seem to come across as well informed.
Not sure how much of an expert he is on Pakistan..
Certainly has a good command over Urdu (and by that I mean, knows when to say 'dehshadgardi' instead of 'aatankvad').
Karan Thapar
This choice may be somewhat unusual. Karan Thapar is well known as tough interviewer. He has a PhD in international relations and has interviewed a host of biggies in international politics, from Kissinger to Benazir Bhutto.
Many know Thapar's early connection to Pakistan. Thapar was a friend of Benazir Bhutto since their Oxford days (or was it Cambridge?). Thapar wrote a famous obituary for Benazir when she was assassinated, in 2007.
Karan Thapar has focused on Pakistan a lot in his journalism career, and at one point even was a 'clandestine' intermediary between the Pakistan high commissioner Ashraf Qazi and LK Advani (then home minister in the NDA government). See Thapar's account of him being a facilitator of meetings between the two.
Karan Thapar is well connected in Pakistan and makes frequent trips there.
Mushahid Hussain
The last on my list is Mushahid Hussain, a school of foreign service graduate from Georgetown University, and cabinet minister in both Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf governments.
Mushahid was most recently the Pakistan Muslim League (N) candidate for president but he lost of Asif Ali Zardari.
Mushahid has been involved deeply in Indo-Pak relations at the government level, and I consider him to be somewhere between a 'dove' and a 'hawk'. A well educated man who enjoys good credibility in India, he has appeared on television in India.
So, that was my list. These people aren't necessarily 'power centres', but hold credibility among the public in either country, most likely in both countries.
You will find a lot of Hassan Nisar videos on YouTube, and they are usually very entertaining.
Mani Shankar Aiyar is well known, a former IFS officer, consul general at Karachi, was on the East Pakistan desk (later the Bangladesh desk), and has been a cabinet minister in Congress governments.
It's tough to find someone with experience being both a diplomat and a politician. Although he was close to Rajiv Gandhi (who brought him into politics), he seems to have lost favour with the present Gandhi family.
Mani Shankar is a 'dove' and has good credibility in Pakistan. I'm not sure I agree with his views, but he's definitely an honest and experienced voice.
KC Singh is an experienced diplomat, most recently the secretary of the ministry of external affairs at retirement. KC Singh has never served in Pakistan, but has been ambassador to Iran, so definitely understands the regional dynamics well.
I've seen him appear on television talk shows recently, and like his observations and views.
I think he's neither a 'hawk' nor a 'dove' but lies somewhere inbetween which is wonderful from a 'credibility on both sides' perspective.
Najam Sethi is another of my favourites in Pakistan. He's a Punjabi, educated at Cambridge, has a lot of contacts in, and ground-level experience in India, and enjoys a lot of patronage from think tanks and organizations in the West, especially the US.
He appears in a weekly (?) television talk show on Geo TV in Pakistan, and his views and observations are usually well researched. Except when the discussion is on regional politics in Pakistan, his shows are very interesting to the average Indian audience.
Sethi appears occasionally on Indian talk shows and is very comfortable in Urdu as well as English.
He has run into rough weather with politicians in Pakistan in the past, adding to his credibility, but appears to be well connected ('najam sethi ki chidiya').
Siddharth Varadarajan has been a journalist for a long time, including during the Taliban era and the NATO war in Yugoslavia. He has taught at LSE (?) and Columbia University.
Most recently, Varadarajan became the editor of The Hindu (certainly better than N Ram). I've seen him in talk shows that included participants from both countries, and he did seem to come across as well informed.
Not sure how much of an expert he is on Pakistan..
Certainly has a good command over Urdu (and by that I mean, knows when to say 'dehshadgardi' instead of 'aatankvad').
This choice may be somewhat unusual. Karan Thapar is well known as tough interviewer. He has a PhD in international relations and has interviewed a host of biggies in international politics, from Kissinger to Benazir Bhutto.
Many know Thapar's early connection to Pakistan. Thapar was a friend of Benazir Bhutto since their Oxford days (or was it Cambridge?). Thapar wrote a famous obituary for Benazir when she was assassinated, in 2007.
Karan Thapar has focused on Pakistan a lot in his journalism career, and at one point even was a 'clandestine' intermediary between the Pakistan high commissioner Ashraf Qazi and LK Advani (then home minister in the NDA government). See Thapar's account of him being a facilitator of meetings between the two.
The last on my list is Mushahid Hussain, a school of foreign service graduate from Georgetown University, and cabinet minister in both Nawaz Sharif and Musharraf governments.
Mushahid was most recently the Pakistan Muslim League (N) candidate for president but he lost of Asif Ali Zardari.
Mushahid has been involved deeply in Indo-Pak relations at the government level, and I consider him to be somewhere between a 'dove' and a 'hawk'. A well educated man who enjoys good credibility in India, he has appeared on television in India.
So, that was my list. These people aren't necessarily 'power centres', but hold credibility among the public in either country, most likely in both countries.
