Paris - ECR Legal Affairs Spokesman and European Parliament Friends of Pakistan (MEP) Group Chairman Sajjad Karim Friday raised concerns of the lack of political will to deal with the issue of self determination in Indian-Held Kashmir by the EU and US.
At a high-level conference hosted by the Friends of Europe think tank in Brussels to discuss the challenges of governance in Pakistan, Karim called for drastic urgency to be taken by the international community to focus on the crisis in Held-Kashmir.
During the discussion panel he said: "There is a big elephant in the room that no one is mentioning, and that elephant is the issue of Kashmir. If the international community do not address this issue, then it does not matter how genuine and sincere their concerns are for stability and security in the region, as stability and security will only come out through addressing the Held-Kashmir issue."
Karim also spoke of the positive developments between the EU and Pakistan and said: "The European Union is based on great ideals and it is good to see progress being made between the EU and Pakistan on many fronts.... If you ever have the chance to go to Pakistan, you will feel a certain glimmer of hope, and this comes from the people."
The discussion proved to be lively and informative with topics ranging from the role of women in Pakistan, the misconception of extremism taught in Islamic schools and the effects of high tariffs against Pakistani textiles.
The discussion panel featured:
- Thomas Miller (the Director of Strategic Communications at the US Embassy in Islamabad),
- Sajjad Karim MEP (Chair of the European Parliament Friends of Pakistan group),
- Ishrat Husain (Director of the Institue of Business Administration, Pakistan),
- Pedro Serrano (the Director for Asia at the European External Action Service),
- Nadia Abbasi (Research Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Pakistan)
And was moderated by - Shada Islam - Moderator (Head of Policy at Friends of Europe).