MIRPUR (AJK) - Kashmiri leaders appreciated the European Union Parliament for holding debate on the Kashmir issue and human rights situation in the Indian held territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
President Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf, Azad Jammu Kashmir chapter, Barrister Sultan Mahmoud Chaudhary has said that the EU parliamentarians’ involvement in the debate reflected the fast-growing realization about the dire humanitarian crisis in IoK at world level.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, the PTI president said that the European Union that has always supported the peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute has yet again issued a strong statement in which the parliamentarians have expressed serious concern over the worsening human rights situation in Kashmir. “Being Kashmiri we are deeply grateful to all those parliamentarians who have played their key role in arranging this historic debate on Kashmir”, Barrister Chaudhary said hoping that the European Union would continue its efforts to pursue peace in South Asian region thereby resolving Kashmir conflict in line with Kashmiris’ aspirations.
Call for world role to mitigate the sufferings of Kashmiri people
Commenting on the development, Secretary Information Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf AJK chapter Mr. Ershad Mahmud said that it was for the second time that a threadbare discussion and deliberations on the situation in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir were held in the European Parliament. What is unique about the debate he said was that it was held at a crucial time when 8 million Kashmiris have been under military lock down for over a month, ever since India revoked Article 370 of its constitution on August 5.
He said that the European Union, which plays a significant role in diplomacy and promotion of human rights across the world, has always raised its voice against the human rights violations committed by Indian troops in Kashmir. He said that it was in July 2008 that the European Parliament had passed a comprehensive resolution calling on India to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the unidentified mass graves discovered in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that no doubt the European Parliament has expressed its grave concern over the well-being of people of occupied Kashmir during the recent debate but the impending crisis in the troubled valley demanded urgent action by the international community. Urging the European parliament to play its effective role to mitigate the unending sufferings of Kashmiri people he said that there was a dire need that the government of India should be pressurized to lift the suffocating siege on Kashmiris and restore fundamental freedoms immediately without any further delay.
Terming unresolved dispute of Kashmir as a major cause and consequence of rights violations in the disputed territory Raja Masadiq Khan, General Secretary PTI AJK said that a peaceful and political solution to the lingering dispute was the only way to end worst humanitarian crisis in the region, which he said has now assumed dangerous proportions due to the unrelenting siege and communication blockade imposed by India.