UK urged to seek EU role in Kashmir solution

Professor Nazir Shawl, Executive Director Kashmir Centre London, has appealed to British Prim Minister Tony Blair to set up a three-country European Union's (EU) group to press India to involve Kashmiris in the current peace talks between Pakistan and India. This appeal was made by Shawl in a letter addressed to Tony Blair, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and members of the House of Commons and House of Lords as Britain was taking over as the EU president on June 11.
He suggested that such a group could play a role of an overseer to ensure both sustenance of a dialogue between Pakistan and India to solve all their outstanding problems, including the Kashmir dispute, and pressurise New Delhi to involve Kashmiris in these talks.
Shawl's letter reminded Blair of the Labour Party's election manifesto, which he said, "is indicative of the fact that it will promote the ongoing dialogue between India and Pakistan for resolving the 57-year-old Kashmir dispute."
It said, "the British Government should lay down a foundation in the European Council by establishing a three-country group to engage the European Council in an overseer role to ensure that India and Pakistan remain engaged and that the Kashmiris are included in the dialogue to enable a durable and peaceful resolution to the Kashmir dispute taking into account the aspirations of the people of Kashmir."
Professor Shawl said India and Pakistan's composite dialogue was steadily moving ahead and so far, the peace process had delivered a bus service between occupied Srinagar and Muzaffarabad and other bus links were also on the cards.
"This Kashmir specific CBM's is welcomed but much more is required to be done and what is needed immediately is to strive for a congenial socio, psycho and political environment on ground in the strife-torn area under Indian occupation," said his letter.
DEMILITARIZATION: He called for demilitarisation of the Indian occupied Kashmir and added that improvement of human rights situation was "pivotal in the forward movement of the peace process."
"The Great Britain as an important leader in the community of nations has a special responsibility to play its role for bringing peace, stability and security in South Asia," he said.
Meanwhile, Kashmir Centre here had been actively lobbying with the British MPs to secure their support for a just solution of the Kashmir issue. During British elections last month Shawl visited different constituencies across the United Kingdom to elicit support from cross-party candidates and as a result, many of them in Leeds, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Luton, Walking, Uxbridge, Tooting, had pledged their support to the Kashmir cause.