The British Parliamentarians, in a seminar on Kashmir at the British Parliament today, urged the UN to send a Fact Finding Mission in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), at the earliest. The Mission would get the first-hand information about the ongoing human rights violations of the Kashmiris by the Indian security forces. On the occasion, it was also proposed to send a delegation of the British Parliamentarians to the IOK to ascertain the situation on ground.The Seminar on Kashmir was arranged by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pakistan where Prime Minister’s Special Envoys on Kashmir Senator Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qayyum and Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh, MNA were keynote speakers.
The British Lords and MPS, expressing deep concerns over the human rights abuses in the IOK, unanimously proposed the following:
a) To call upon the UN to send a Fact Finding Mission to the IOK to get the First-hand information about the human rights violations in the valley
b) Complete demilitarization of Kashmir, creating an enabling environment for holding free and fair plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the people of Kashmir
Speaking on the occasion, Gen Qayyum briefed the parliamentarians on the ongoing human rights violations of the Kashmiris by the Indian security forces. He called upon UN to fulfill its obligation of holding plebiscite in Kashmir. The General also emphasized on the UK to play its role in early resolution of the dispute in the larger interest of peace and security in the region and world at large.
Similarly, Mr. Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh, MNA also highlighted the human rights abuses of the Kashmiris and the prolonged curfew in Indian Occupied Kashmir which has completely paralyzed life in the valley. On this occasion, H.E. Syed Ibne Abbas, Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK stated that the consensus on working towards sending a fact-finding mission to the Indian Occupied Kashmir is very encouraging. He added that Pakistan would welcome a similar delegation of the British Parliamentarians to Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He stated that Pakistan would always stand by its fundamental principle that Kashmir dispute should be resolved according to the aspirations of Kashmiris.
The Seminar chaired by Mr. Rehman Chishti, MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group was attended by Lord Nazir Ahmed, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Nusrat Ghani MP, David Nuttall MP, Liz McInnes MP, Kate Hollern MP, Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh MP, Imran Hussain MP, Khalid Mehmood MP and Graham Jones MP.
