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| EU Kashmir report leaves Pakistan disappointed | | | NEW DELHI, MAR 26
Parliament's much-discussed Kashmir report is in news, agaion. The 28 amendments made to the report by European Parliament’s Baroness Emma Nicholson have failed to meet Pakistan’s expectations, especially on the plebiscite issue.
The report is to be put to vote in May when Pakistan hopes it can generate enough support to get the desired results. Pakistan’s lobbying efforts have been coordinated with help from Kashmiri groups by its UK High Commissioner, Maleeha Lodhi.
Last week, the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee adopted with “minor changes” the report incorporating the recommendation that conditions for a plebiscite had not been met and there could be no plebiscite in Kashmir. Considered by many as a victory for India, the report with its 28 amendments was adopted with 60 voting in favour, one against and 11 abstentions. The report will now go before the plenary session of the European Parliament for approval in late May.
“I am very pleased indeed that we succeeded in having the vote”, Baroness Emma Nicholson, author of the report ‘Kashmir: Present Situation and Future Prospects’ was quoted as saying after the vote. She added that the committee had placed its full support behind the India-Pakistan composite dialogue process, “which is resulting in a range of confidence building measures or CBMs that have enabled, among others, divided families to meet for the first time in 60 years – a process which I witnessed personally last summer”.
She said that a total of 450 amendments were proposed, of which 200 were short-listed. “The European Parliament has underscored the high value that it places on democracy and human rights for all people in the region, particularly for earthquake victims, forced migrants, refugees and others in need in Azad Kashmir (Pakistan held territory), Gilgit and Baltistan and Indian-administered Kashmir,” she said.
On the other hand, Naem Ahmad Khan, leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has stated in Islamabad that the uncertainty prevailing in Pakistan has been affecting the "Kashmiri freedom movement" and the International Kashmir Conference (IKC) has failed to convey a message to the international community.
Khan, who is currently in Pakistan, said the IKC was a unique conference because Kashmiri intellectuals from around the world gather at this platform to find a solution to the lingering dispute. He urged India and Pakistan to include Kashmiris from both sides of the Line of Control(LoC) in the search for a settlement because without involving them no permanent solution to the dispute could be reached.
Khan has opined that if India takes steps towards demilitarisation, Kashmiri militant groups will reciprocate. Otherwise unilateral ceasefire "is premature", he said, adding that India had to first demilitarise the area if it believed that a solution could be sought without force. About the ongoing composite dialogue between Pakistan and India he said that the APHC welcomed the confidence building measures the two rivals had taken. He said India was unwilling to change its stance while Pakistan and the APHC had shown flexibility. |
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