Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 1
India and Pakistan today clashed over Kashmir at a meeting of South Asian Speakers in Maldives even as the issue is slated to figure before the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament on Monday and at a meeting of a US House Foreign Relations sub-committee later in the week.
Deputy Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri deviated from the script in Male, while speaking on sustainable development, and claimed a human crisis had emerged due to continuous curfew and lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir.
Having anticipated a Pakistan attempt to raise Kashmir, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh immediately raised a point of order and with the aid of prepared notes, strongly objected to the raising of India’s internal matter that was extraneous to the theme of the forum.
Harivansh also utilised the point of order to ask Pakistan to end cross-border terrorism and “all kinds of state support in the interest of regional peace and stability”.
Pakistan senator Qurat ul Ain Marri sought to back Khan by saying the issue was directly related to sustainable development goals since they could not be achieved without human rights.
But she was cut short by the presiding officer and Speaker of Maldives’ Majlis, Mohd Nasheed, who asked Khan to conform to the agenda.
This was the first face-off between Pakistan and India at the government level after the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.
Meanwhile, in the US, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Asia Brad Sherman announced that the panel will soon hold a hearing on the “deteriorating situation in Kashmir”.
Sherman said the hearing will focus on the humanitarian situation. “I had an opportunity to meet with Americans from Kashmir a week ago. We heard stories of difficulties encountered by my constituents and others and the fears they have for their loved ones. I look forward to learning more about human rights in Kashmir,” he said.
Sherman is a leading member of the Indo-US Caucus as is another member of the sub-committee Indian-American Ami Bera. Sherman along with another Congressman George Holding had defended India’s position on Kashmir after US President Donald Trump had suggested mediation on the issue.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs will meet on Monday to discuss Kashmir. PM of PoK Raja Farooq Haider is likely to attend.
‘Deeply concerned’
US presidential contender Bernie Sanders has described India’s actions in J&K as “unacceptable”, and said he is “deeply concerned” about the situation. The independent Senator said the crackdown on dissent “in the name of security” impedes the access to medical care. “The US must speak out boldly in support of international humanitarian law and a UN-backed peaceful resolution that respects the will of Kashmiri people,” he said.
from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2HDZ8h5
via Today’s News Headlines
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