All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) in UK Parliament has been on an official visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir to have a first hand knowledge about the prevailing political and human rights situation in Indian held territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the situation created by India on the LoC. Member European Parliament Anthea McIntyre, who is also a part of the delegation will be organizing an international conference in Brussels and is also steering a report on the human rights violations taking place in IOK. During their visit the members of the group met several delegations comprising representatives from cross section of society. Besides the top leadership of Azad Jammu and Kashmir the APPKG delegates had a detailed meeting with representatives of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (AJK-Pak chapter). Moreover the visiting delegation paid a visit to Chakothi Crossing Point near Line of Control (LoC), refugee camps and took part in a round table conference hosted by MUST university at Mirpur.
The AJK President Sardar Masood Khan while briefing the British delegation about the worsening human rights situation in Indian held Kashmir sought intervention of the international organizations and international community to protect life, honor and dignity of the Kashmiri people and their leadership. He said, “They need to be protected from the unbridled wrath of Indian forces, paramilitary troops and intelligence agencies”. The President also drew the attention of the Parliamentarians on the recently published report of the Office of the High commissioner for Human Rights, which he said was a strong indictment against India for committing massive human rights violations. The delegation was also apprised of India’s naked aggression and belligerence on the LoC. The delegation has also been apprised of New Delhi’s high-handed approach towards the people of Kashmir and its perpetual denial to hold dialogue with Pakistan. The fact is that India is running away from dialogue because it does not want to discuss Kashmir and therefore resorts to age-old pretentious dilly-dallying tactics. The All Parties Parliamentary Kashmir Group, which has been working on Kashmir since a long time needs to pursue this issue in the light of recommendations put forth by Kashmiri leaders hailing from both sides of the line of control ( LoC) and redouble its efforts to seek a peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute. Given the highly volatile situation in the region the honourable parliamentarians should pursue their government to impress upon New Delhi to restart dialogue with the government of Pakistan to seek an amicable solution of Kashmir dispute that has been bone of contention in the region. The government of India also needs to be reminded that Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute and the resolutions passed on Kashmir are UN sanctioned and need to be implemented. To avoid any unfortunate eventuality in the region it is imperative that the age old issue should be addressed on urgent basis. This is in the interest of the entire South Asian region because peace and stability in the region is inescapably linked to settlement of K-dispute. In this context the British Parliamentarians have a role and indeed an obligation to facilitate peaceful settlement of the lingering dispute.
