LONDON: The Indian government has tried to cast aspersions on the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir which organised a conference at the British Parliament last week where human rights abuses of Kashmiris by Indian occupation forces were discussed and demand was made from India to abide by international norms and end torture and killings of Kashmiris.
A meeting of the APPG on Kashmir last week received a critical update on the situation in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) from the president of Azad Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan. Indian High Commission was sent invitations to attend the conference and present its viewpoint, but no representative attended the meeting. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK Syed Ibne Abbas attended the meeting. The meeting was attended by more than two dozen MPs.
The APPG chaired by Labour MP Chris Leslie, has more than a dozen MPs from Labour and Conservative parties of the UK. Indian-origin first turban-wearing Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi is also part of the parliamentary group.
Through an article in the Hindustan Times, the Indian government issued allegations that members of diaspora were not allowed to attend the meeting but stressed that the informal cross-party groups have no official status within the UK Parliament but are governed by rules set by the House. The article showed that India has panicked after failing to conceal the truth about grave human rights violations by its occupation security forces.
In a desperate effort to avoid criticism by international community on its highhandedness in IHK, the Hindustan Times cast aspersions on the APPG because India is aware that the Group is a cross-party influential parliamentary body of the British parliamentarians who are currently producing a report on situation in Kashmir.
An MP linked with the Group told The News that the APPG has recorded several testimonies from the stakeholders, including the Pakistan High Commission, London and Sardar Masood Khan. The report, once completed, will be presented to the British Parliament, the European Union and the United Nations (UN).
The Hindustan Times article, quoting Indian government, said the parliamentary body didn’t invite organisations to represent Indian perspective, but on the other it said that the APPG invited Mehbooba Mufti, Chief Minister of IHK, to hearing, but she did not attend.
Despite its best efforts, the newspaper could not get a favourable statement from any British MP. As a last resort, it had to rely on the statement of Bob Blackman MP who is known for his venom against Pakistan. Bob Blackman routinely visits India to attend events held by BJP and other Hindutva groups and he openly praises actions of Narendra Modi.
The APPG-linked MP said that relying on Bob Blackman shows that India has badly failed to suppress truth about Kashmir despite its big market mantra and clout. “It also shows how India is lacking credibility when it comes to the illegal occupation of Kashmir and the gross human rights abuses being committed by its security forces,” said the MP.
When the Hindustan Times asked shadow foreign secretary of the UK’s Labour Party, she showed the real picture of Kashmir. Emily Thornberry MP was quoted as saying: “Our current position on Kashmir comes from a concern for human rights. We hear a kaleidoscope of stories, from the extremes to the less extreme; the human rights of Kashmiris continue to bubble up. I have spoken to the (Indian) high commissioner about this.
“Kashmiris want to live in peace. That should be our starting point. I know there are people in India who say these stories are exaggerated or indeed downright lies. And if that’s right, it does seem to me that India has nothing to fear from allowing human rights monitors into Kashmir in order to be able to support that it isn’t true.”
As a part of its efforts to highlight the plight of the Kashmiri people, the High Commission for Pakistan in London has asked for a cross-party parliamentary delegation of the UK to be sent to both sides of Kashmir to assess the human rights situation. While Pakistan always welcomes the human rights monitors on its side, India never allows them to visit the IHK.
MPs on the APPG had secured a debate in the House of Commons in January 2017 on the situation in the state. Out of 32 MPs who took part in the debate, 30 MPs had supported the motion and raised severe concerns on the human rights abuses in IHK. A similar debate is likely this year as well.
In a recently held Councillors Convention here last week, the Pakistan high commissioner reiterated the country’s stance that the international community should play its role to end the human rights violations in IHK and resolve the dispute according the resolutions of the UN. The high commissioner said Pakistan would continue its political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Kashmir in their rightful struggle of self-determination.