Pakistan’s special envoys apprise UK lawmakers on Kashmir issue

Pakistan’s special envoys Thursday apprised the UK lawmakers about the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and sought the British government’s help to resolve the issue.

The envoys comprising Senator Abdul Qayyum and MP Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh met with the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee at the British parliament in London.

“The envoys apprised the Select Committee on the on-going gross violations of the human rights and atrocities being committed” in Kashmir, Foreign Office said in a statement.

Qayyum emphasised 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 could potentially impact Pakistans efforts against terrorism, and would adversely affect regional and global peace efforts,” he said. He said that in the globalised environment, peace and war could not be compartmentalised.

Qayyum said that if peace was essential in Kabul, it was also essential in Srinagar. He claimed 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.

The envoy urged the British government to help resolve this dispute in the interest of global peace. Qaiser underscored that the ongoing conflict on Kashmir between the two neighbours had hampered progress and development in the region. He urged the UK government and the parliamentarians to play an active role in halting alleged 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 Kashmir on both sides. Member of the British Parliament Yasmin Qureshi was chairing the meeting.

She told the envoys that the alleged 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 issue.

She added that the Committee members would call upon the UK government to act as a mediator in resolving the dispute. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced last month to send special envoys to leading world capital to highlight the Kashmir issue.