All the political parties
united on Kashmir cause: Wajid
LONDON: The President of Pakistan, Prime Minister
and leaders of all the political parties are fully committed to Kashmir cause
and continuously support the peaceful solution of the issue according to UN
resolutions envisaging free and fair plebiscite, said Pakistan High
Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hassan while addressing a
conference on ‘Peace and Justice For Kashmir’ in the House
of Lords organized by a leading media group (Nawa-I- Waqt) of Pakistan in
connection with Kashmir Solidarity day on February 3.
Lord Nazir Ahmed who is chairman of ALL Parties
Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir chaired
the conference. Prominent among the participants were Mr. Ehsan Iqbal,
Secretary Information, Pakistan Muslim League (N), MP, Gerald Kaufmann,
MP. Rob Fellelo, MP John Hemming, MP Fiona Mctaggart, Prof Nazir Shawl,
Barrister Amjad Malik, Mr. Zubair
Gul of PML (N) and Mr. Ghalib President All Parties Kashmir
Committee. The speakers were of the view that without justice to People of Kashmir
peace of the entire region was not possible. The participants asserted
that Self –determination is an inalienable right of the Kashmiri people to be
able to move around freely and to conduct their socio-economic and political
lives in accordance with their own wishes. This right is bestowed under the UN
Charter. Restrictions on freedom of speech and movement should be brought to an
end now. Political workers languishing in jails must be released and oppression
of the Kashmiri people must come to an end.
The High Commissioner said that whenever Pakistan has
had democratic governments as now, it has made major strides towards seeking
its resolution through dialogue. “Simla agreement was the starting point. It
ushered peace in the region until now. Numerous agreements were signed between
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s government for normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India. So did we see the signing of
Lahore Declaration between Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpee that paved the way subsequently for the initiation of
Composite Dialogue”.
Mr. Hasan said that the governments under
Pakistan Peoples Party have always pursued the Kashmir cause
emphatically and it was in 1974 that for the first time then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto gave call to observe and mark a
day to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir
and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed followed the similar practice. He
called upon the international community in general and the British
government in particular, to play its rightful role in promoting peace in the
region and to make sustained and robust efforts towards the resolution of the Kashmir dispute according to the wishes of the people.
Reckoning the Labour Party Resolution passed in
1995 for settling the dispute the High Commissioner said Britain’s
historic responsibility in this issue is undisputed. The Labour Party’s
resolution adopted by its annual conference at Brighton in October 1995 rightly
described Kashmir issue as part of the
unfinished agenda of the 1947 Partition plan executed by the then Labour
government. It cannot any longer abdicate its responsibility towards addressing
this core issue he added
Drawing attention towards human rights
violations Mr. Hasan said “as long as human rights violations and occupation
continue, avenues for a peaceful solution remain restricted. Hopes for a
negotiated settlement remain an elusive dream forcing the aggrieved people of Kashmir to resort to other measures to express their
frustrations”.
He further added that ironically, the plight of Kashmiri people has
further compounded due to the new phenomenon of thousands of “half widows”,
whose husbands are missing. They do not know the fate of their husbands nor can
they continue with their lives like normal human beings. In order to improve
atmosphere, Delhi
must revoke draconian laws. Dialogue between India
and Pakistan on the core
issue of Kashmir as well as other areas of
conflict is imperative he further asserted.
Lord Nazir Ahmed said that the only way to peace
was possible through ensuring justice for the people of Kashmir.
He said that the objective of All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir was to
keep the Kashmir issue alive Lord Ahmed said that the Kashmir
dispute must be made part of efforts to create peace and stability
in Afghanistan
and the region.
Mr. Ehsan Iqbal called upon conducting plebiscite
as envisaged in UN resolutions. He said it was India who took the issue to Security
Council and later defaulted on Security Council’s resolutions. He said that
there was a direct link between conflict in Kashmir
and peace in the entire region and that terrorism can not be fought back till
the time international institutions abandon double standards.
At the end of Conference a resolution was
adopted calling for free and fair plebiscite, ending human rights
violations and resuming talks besides including Kashmir
in the peace Agenda of Afghanistan.
February 4,
2010
Last updated: 9 February 2010
