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| Islamabad upset by foreign observers' support to India | | Spotlights on European Parliament's J&K report | |
B L KAK
NEW DELHI Nov 30
Anyone or any country or institution discussing or referring to the restive State of Jammu and Kashmir becomes news. No wonder, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament is in news these days, with one party--that is,New Delhi--seemingly satisfied and another party--that is, Islamabad--dissatisfied. New Delhi's satisfaction is the product of pro-India material in the European Parliament's report on Kashmir. And Islamabad's disatisfaction is the outcome of a set of material critcising Pakistan.
The draft report on Jammu and Kashmir is currently being debated by European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels. No sooner did Islamabad receive clear inputs about the European Parliament's report brushing aside the demand for a plebiscite in Kashmir than the Pakistan Foreign Office made public its demand: Foreign Affairs Committee of European Parliament must take into account the "sentiments and struggle" of the Kashmir people. Pak Foreign Office spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam, who called the report "wholly out of step" and against the interests of the people in Kashmir, was quoted as saying: "This is an individual's report which has been presented to the European Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee. In This context what is of importance and relevance will be the Kashmir opinion".
The rapporteur of the report titled "Kashmir: Present Situation and Future Prospects" is British Member of European Parliament, Baroness Emma Nicholson, who visited Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and India in June this year. At a time when European Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee has taken up the report on J&K for discussion, Pakistan's Foreign Office is reported to have dashed off a message to Brussels, urging the committee to "take into consideration the sentiments and struggle of Kashmirs over the past six decades and the need to promote a setlement of the Kashmir dispute that is acceptable first and foremost to Kashmiris".
The European Parliament's report said: "Continuing calls for a plebiscite on the final status of Jammu and Kashmir are wholly out of step with the needs of the local people and thus damaging to their interests." On present indications, the Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to adopt the report following a debate on amendment proposals on January 30 and the European Parliament's plenary session is expected to debate the report in March next.
The draft report, apparenty, advocates a bilateral solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and underscores the need for the region, EU (European Union) and the international community to support the current bilateral talks. Ms Nicholson who is the vice-chairperson of the European Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee, was appointed by the European Parliament to write a report on a final solution to the Jammu and Kashmir problem.
At a time when Islamabad has reiterated that it does not support infiltration of militants into Jammu and Kashmir, European Parliament's draft report wants Pakistan to "take much stronger and more effective measures to curb infiltration across the LoCby militantrs operating out of teritory under its (Pakistan's) control". Islamabad cannot be expected to take gladly the report's endorsement of New Delhi's policies.
Sample number against Pakistan: India, the report says, is the world's largest democracy and has a functioning democracy at local level, while Pakistan still has to show that it is respecting democratic principles in a great many areas. Sample number two: European Parliament's report has critcised the practice of making the candidate for a parliamentary seat in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) to sign a declaration of loyalty.
The report has made a pointed reference to the Gilgit-Baltistan region, which, according to it, enjoys "no form of democratic representation whatsoever". The report contains yet another finding inimical to Islamabad: Pakistan has consistently failed to fulfil its obligations to introduce meaningful and representative democratic structure in the PoK |
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