New Delhi
24 February 2007
The European Parliament's draft report on "Kashmir: Present
Situation and Future Prospects" should encourage India and Pakistan to pursue the
peace process and leave certain contentious issues alone, according to visiting Member
of European Parliament Richard Howitt.
As first reported by this newspaper in November last year, the draft report reads, "India
is the world's largest democracy and has a functioning democracy at local level whereas
Pakistan still has to show that it is respecting democratic principles in a great many
areas". It goes on to state that "continuing calls for a plebiscite on the final status of
Jammu and Kashmir are wholly out of step with the needs of the local people and thus
damaging to their interests".
"We don't think the report gives enough credit to the current peace process. I'm not
saying that things are perfect I know this is an enormously complex difficult situation
and that is how I felt among the people I have met. The first and absolute priroty of the
international community should be to support and encourage that process to continue.
I'm afraid the draft report as it stands at the moment doesn't give sufficient emphasis to
that," Howitt said in New Delhi.
Richard Howitt is on a four-day visit to India. He visited Jammu and Kashmir and
interacted with politicians, officials, police, military and members of the civil society to
"study the position" and to "listen and learn" about the situation on the ground. In New
Delhi, he has met with Indian and European diplomats, non-government organisations
and officials at the National Human Rights Commission. Howitt spent four days in
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir too. The draft report by rapportuer Baroness Nicholson of
Winterbourne, who visited India in June last year, will come up for debate soon in the
European Parliament.
Howitt has submitted 54 amendments to the report. "This is a conflict situation, and it
should be the duty of Europe and any international actor to pursue conflcit resolution,"
he said. "[The European] parliament's trying to bring that (plebiscite) issue to the fore
can only polarise debate when the peace process is bringing both sides together."
The report also observes that "Pakistan has consistently failed to fulfil its obligations to
introduce meaningful and representative democratic structures in [POK]; notes in
particular the continuing absence of Kashmiri representation in the Pakistan National
Assembly, the fact that [POK} is governed through the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs in
Islamabad [and] is concerned that the Gilgit-Baltistan region enjoys no form of
democratic representation whatsoever".
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