Srinagar
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi invited all parliamentarians of Pakistan and the political leadership of Pakistan administered Kashmir to attend a seminar on the Kashmir issue at the United Kingdom’s House of Commons early next month, The Express Tribune reported.
According to a report published by The Express Tribune said that the invitation was extended on Monday as the Pakistan foreign minister met members of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The report quoted Qureshi as having said national unity was essential to bolster Islamabad’s efforts for an effective resolution to the Kashmir issue.
“We all must work together and raise our voices in unison for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination,” The Express Tribune quoted Qureshi as having said.
According to report, Qureshi urged the Pakistani and Kashmiri political leadership to attend the seminar in the House of Commons on February 4 and a related exhibition in London on February 5.
“Qureshi and Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua also briefed the standing committee on the report released by the UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Kashmir Group (APPKG) in October 2018,” The Express Tribune reported.
“The report highlighted the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act as “draconian laws” under which “forces are committing human rights abuses in Kashmir with impunity”,” it said.
Addressing the Senate committee members, FM Qureshi said the reports by the APPKG and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had revealed the true scale of India’s brutalities in Kashmir.
The report said that Qureshi stressed the need to highlight the findings at all international forums and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to support Kashmiris in their struggle for the right of self-determination.
