status quo in Kashmir is not an option

Special Envoys impress upon Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee that status quo in Kashmir is not an option

Special Envoys of the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Jammu & Kashmir met with the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 20 October 2016, at the British Parliament. The Envoys apprised the Select Committee on the on-going gross violations of the human rights and atrocities being committed in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

Senator Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum emphasized that the “status quo” in Kashmir was now not an option. He called for non-discriminatory application of the universal declaration of human rights for durable peace and security. The ongoing conflict, he cautioned, could potentially impact Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism, and would adversely affect regional and global peace efforts.

Senator Qayyum further highlighted that in the globalised environment, peace and war could not be compartmentalised. He said that if peace was essential in Kabul, it was also essential in Srinagar. He added that Kashmir was in fact most explosive global flash point since it is a bone of contention between two nuclear powers like India and Pakistan, in the proximity of two other nuclear powers China and Russia. He urged the British Government to help resolve this dispute in the interest of global peace.

Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh MNA underscored that the ongoing conflict on Kashmir between the two neighbours had hampered progress and development in the region. He highlighted the human rights dimension of the issue and urged the UK government and the parliamentarians to play an active role in halting human rights abuses in Kashmir.

Both Envoys also called for a fact-finding Mission either from the United Nations or from the UK parliament, to visit both Indian and Pakistani side of Kashmir.

Member of the British Parliament Yasmin Qureshi, who was chairing the meeting, expressed deep concerns on the plight of the Kashmiri people. The MP informed the Envoys that the Human Rights violations in Kashmir were already on the agenda of the Committee and she had personally asked the Committee to hold an independent inquiry into the human rights abuses. She added that the Committee members would call upon the UK government to act as a mediator in resolving the dispute.