Kashmir issue: UK MP lauds Pakistan's progressive approach

A British parliamentarian, Debbie Abrahams, who was recently denied visit to India and occupied Jammu and Kashmir along with a parliamentary delegation by the Indian government, on Wednesday lauded Pakistan's "open and progressive" approach on Kashmir and hoped India will also "reciprocate".

Debbie Abrahams, who is chair of the All Party Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) in the British House of Commons, and British MP Imran Hussain, were speaking at a joint news conference along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other visiting British parliamentarians.

The British MPs delegation is visiting Pakistan as independent group to monitor the situations in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Abrahams along with her delegation was denied entry at New Delhi Airport on Tuesday with valid Indian visa. She was deported after the Indian government revoked her visa, which was valid till October 2020, according to a copy of the visa, Abrahams uploaded on Twitter.

"We had very full and frank discussions with Foreign Minister Qureshi. I am very grateful to him and to the Pakistani government for facilitating this independent trip of the group from the UK parliament," Abrahams told the news conference.

She said that they had sought visit to both sides of Kashmir so that they could understand in more detail about what was happening and to speak with people there.

"We as delegation also sought to visit India and Jammu and Kashmir, but unfortunately that hasn't happened. Hopefully it will happen in the future," she expressed the hope. "We are not anti-India or pro-Pakistan. We are independent and pro-human rights," she asserted.

Abrahams said that the purpose of the group's planned visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Indian Occupied Kashmir was to review human rights situation there.

She said that Pakistan's stance on the Kashmir issue reflected the country's openness and progressive approach to the dispute, expressing hope that India would also "reciprocate".

According to her, during their discussions, Foreign Minister Qureshi was very forthcoming about what was happening in the region even when pressed for answers to specific questions that were raised in the recent UN human rights report.

She added that when they were planning the trip, they wanted to make sure that the delegation visited both India and Jammu and Kashmir and had access in the same way they have been facilitated by the Pakistani government.

"But I have had no responses to my requests for a delegation to go to [Indian occupied] Jammu and Kashmir. I hope India will take the opportunity to reflect on Pakistan's approach to addressing the issues that it has faced in different parts of the country and how they are responding to the report from the UN. And take the opportunity to become more open," Abrahams added.

Responding a query, she said that the visiting delegation is not representing the British government, yet she added that the group also comprised of the Conservative MPs who will also be reporting back to their parties.

Abrahams said that what is happening in held Kashmir is not going unnoticed, adding that they are constantly raising the issue and exerting pressure on the British government.

"We hope in addition to what we are doing through our government, the international community as a whole will realize that human rights is a priority and that priorities are not just about trade," she said in reference to the silence of the big powers for the sake of the business interest.

Abrahams said that it is the responsibility of the international community to speak on the human rights violations.

She further said head of UN Human Rights Commission will soon visit Pakistan and India to collect documentary evidence about prevailing situation in Kashmir, and hoped that India will cooperate with the commission just like the Pakistani government. To another query, she referred to the statement by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, that on Kashmir issue the UN Security Council resolutions are still there and relevant.

"But human rights are not negotiable," she asserted. Abrahams said that Kashmir issue should be resolved peacefully as two nuclear-armed powers have been at loggerheads since long.

Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi regretted that the situation in occupied Kashmir was deteriorating following Indian illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019. He said that India's brutal and real face stands exposed before the international community, and massive Indian brutalities are a wake up call for the international community.

Qureshi urged the British Parliament's Group to brief the United Nations on the worst human rights situation in occupied Kashmir.

He also appreciated the UN chief's remarks in which he called for implementing UN Security Council's resolutions on Kashmir. Qureshi also urged parliaments of various countries, including the UK House of Commons, to pass unanimous resolutions on Kashmir just like Pakistan. Rejecting the Indian claims of Kashmir being its "internal matter", Qureshi said that New Delhi's narrative has been rejected with the recent statement by the UN chief who empathetically stated that the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir are as relevant today as they were yesterday.

The foreign minister said that he also apprised the visiting delegation of his interaction with a number of his foreign counterparts, adding that they were aware what is happening in held Kashmir, "but they are silent due [to] their business interests".

He said that as warned by international bodies, Kashmir dispute has become a nuclear flashpoint, which needs to be resolved forthwith. He said that the British delegation has been assured that they can visit anywhere in Pakistan including Azad Jammu and Kashmir freely and interact freely with the people and the government will facilitate them.

Speaking on the occasion, senior vice chair All Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir MP Imran Hussain said the Kashmiri people are facing communication blackout in the occupied valley and they are unable to get access to essential commodities, including medicines owing to continuous curfew.

"We are here to explore the human rights situation on both sides," he added.

To a question, Hussain said that human right is not a bilateral issue but it is an international issue, which cannot go unnoticed.

"If you have nothing to hide, then please allow us to visit [Indian occupied] Jammu and Kashmir so that we can see things independently," he said, adding that it was unfortunate that it was not for the first time India had denied foreign MPs visit to the valley. Earlier, the visiting British MPs delegation also met with the foreign minister and discussed the situation in Kashmir.