ISLAMABAD: British Parliamentarian Debbie Abrahams, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) in the British House of Commons, leading a 13 member lawmakers delegation, said on Wednesday that it was the obligation of all states, according to the UN Convention, to speak up against another state which was experiencing human rights violations.
Ms Abrahams from the Labour Party arrived in Islamabad after she was denied entry into India, even though she claimed she had a valid visa.
Hinting at world capitals who maintain a stony silence in face of unspeakable brutalities in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) to safeguard their trade, Debbie Abrahams instead asked the international community to speak up against the grave human rights violation in IOK, put human rights before trade, and recognise that human rights should be a priority.
The United States and the European Union are amongst those that have given trade priority rather than the trampling of human rights in IOK, though they claim to champions of human rights. Debbie Abrahams revealed that the head of UN Human Rights Commission will soon visit Pakistan and India to collect documentary evidence about prevailing situation in Kashmir.
“It is our obligation according to the UN Convention to speak up against another state experiencing human rights violation. It is not just about trade. We are not anti-India or pro-Pakistan. We are pro-human rights,” she said during a joint press conference at the Foreign Office alongside Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
The British parliamentarian had word of praise for Pakistan while pointing to Qureshi who had asked the UN to issue a third report regarding human rights situation on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).
“This shows openness and a progressive approach on this issue and I hope India will reciprocate as well,” she added.
Imran Hussain MP, Senior Vice-Chair APPGK and Shadow Justice Minister (Labour), reacting to India’s stance that Kashmir was a bilateral issue with Pakistan said, "Human rights can never be bilateral issues, they are international issues for the international community and anybody reverting back from that point needs to go back and check the rule book.
He added that the Indian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the PSA are both draconian pieces of legislation that are recognised, again in international laws, as illegal.
“We cannot shy away from the issue, other governments have shied away from the issue, but we must be bolder,” he said.
He said the group wanted to see the human rights situation on both sides and pointed to Kashmiris in IOK who continue to face a communication blackout and find it very difficult because of the curfew to have access to medicines and other essential commodities.
Ms Abrahams also had a word of praise for Qureshi about the talks that she and the group held with him. She pointed out that he was forthcoming even regarding Pakistan’s stance on some human rights issues mentioned in the UN report pertaining to Azad Kashmir.
While the world watches helplessly, Ms Abrahams was asked what possible steps her independent group could undertake to liberate Kashmiris from Indian repression.
"Please don’t be under any illusion we are not doing that. Last week, I met with the British foreign minister, and I know my Conservative colleagues who are part of this delegation will also be reporting back to their parties. What is going on in Occupied Kashmir has not gone unnoticed,” she responded.
In this regard, she pointed out, “We are not here for a sightseeing trip, to look at what is happening and to do nothing. We are constantly raising this issue and we hope in addition to what we are doing through our government, the international community as a whole will realise that human rights is a priority and that priorities are not just about trade."
Recently EU Ambassadors stationed in New Delhi were taken by the Indian government on a ‘guided’ tour to IOK, which was criticised by Kashmiris as a ‘touristy sightseeing trip’.
Imran Hussain MP also thanked Pakistan for allowing a frank discussion on Kashmir. "We had a very full and frank discussion with the foreign minister. I am very grateful to him and to the Pakistani government for facilitating this independent trip of the group from the UK Parliament,” he said.
Ms Abrahams said that the group wants to visit Pakistan and Azad Kashmir so that they could interact with people there and gauge for themselves the situation. "We also sought to visit India and Jammu and Kashmir, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened. Hopefully it will happen in the future," she said.
The MP explained in detail that her group was hoping that it could visit both sides of Kashmir, and India would have also been more forthcoming and facilitate them as the Pakistan government had.
"But I have had no responses to my requests for a delegation to go to Jammu and Kashmir. I hope India will take the opportunity to reflect on Pakistan’s approach to addressing the issues that it has faced in different parts of the country and how they are responding to the report from the UN,” she said, adding that India should learn to become more open to her independent group.
The British MPs say that they will certainly put pressure on the British government to give weight to their observations and speak up about the situation relating to negation of human rights in IOK.
Meanwhile, responding to queries, Qureshi said that India should hear the UN Secretary General who negated India’s stance that IOK was an internal matter of New Delhi.
"It was answered very well by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (during his visit to Pakistan) when he categorically said that the Security Council resolutions are as relevant now as they used to be before,” he said, adding, "It is an internationally recognised dispute and the UN chief endorses that.”
The foreign minister said it was time for parliamentarians of other countries, including the UK House of Commons, to pass unanimous resolutions on Kashmir just like Pakistan’s Parliament had done recently.
Turning to the recently held Munich Security Council, Qureshi said it had taken cognac of the fact that Kashmir is a nuclear flashpoint and if things get worse, it is unimaginable what the global impact may be. He asked the UK Parliament Group to brief the United Nations on worst human rights situation in IOK.
The British delegation included Debbie Abrahams MP, Imran Hussain, James Daly MP, Treasurer APPGK (Conservative), Lord Qurban Hussain, Secretary APPGK (LibDem), Tahir Ali MP, Vice-Chair APPGK (Labour), Sara Britcliffe MP (Conservative), Mark Eastwood MP (Conservative), Judith Cummins MP (Labour), Yasmine Dar, Member Labour Party’s National Executive Committee (She was instrumental in getting the Labour’s resolution on Kashmir), Harpreet Uppal, parliamentary staff, Sabah Kanwal, parliamentary assistant, Raja Najabat Hussain, Chair J&K Self Determination Movement Intl (JKSDMI) and Shadad Qumar.
