All parties conference on Kashmir on 28th

LONDON (APP) - Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said the all parties conference on Kashmir being convened in Islamabad on July 28 will discuss, analyse and deliberate in-depth the Kashmir policy and evolve consensus on the issue in display of national solidarity with the people of Kashmir. Speaking at a dinner hosted in his honour by Lord Nazir Ahmed, Chairman of All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir in the UK Parliament here last night, he said due to the current situation in Afghanistan and the internal challenges being faced by Pakistan, the issue of Kashmir had been placed on the backburner. Maulana said all the parties represented in the national parliament had agreed to take part in the conference which would also be attended by the Kashmiri leadership and other stakeholders. He condemned the recent statement of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who reportedly stated that Pakistan should forget Kashmir as it was burdened by its own serious internal problems. Maulana said even though Pakistan was beset with problems, it could not forget Kashmir and would continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support and highlight the human right abuses in the Indian Occupied Kashmir. Referring to the regional situation, Fazl said Pakistan and India had realised the significance of dialogue and negotiations on the issue of Kashmir and had entered into process of peaceful solution of the dispute but on the other hand at international level paradox had emerged as war had been chosen as an option in Afghanistan. He said his own partys stance right from the beginning was for political solution in the region through dialogue and engagement with the stakeholders. Maulana said he fully endorsed political and peaceful approach for the solution for various disputes be it bilateral regional or international. Earlier, British MPs Fiona Mactaggart, Simon Denchuzu and Lord Qurban Hussain in their brief remarks called for the solution of Kashmir problem and said the human rights issue remained an area of concern for international community and rubbished claims by the Indian officials that this was an internal matter. They said they would continue to speak on behalf of the Kashmiri community based in the UK and keep Kashmir on the public agenda.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt