Tue 17 September 2019:
Pakistan is planning to move a resolution on Kashmir at the ongoing meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The Strasbourg-based European Parliament is expected to debate on the Kashmir issue and human rights situation in the Valley, due to a communication blockade, on 17 September. This will be the second time since 2008 that the European Parliament General Assembly is likely to discuss Kashmir.
Pakistan, meanwhile, is planning to move a resolution on Kashmir at the ongoing (9-27 September) 42nd meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The deadline for Pakistan to move the resolution is 19 September.
The European Parliament, which is an important forum for political debate and decision-making of the European Union (EU), has decided to debate the recent steps taken by the Narendra Modi government of abrogating Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and the ongoing communication blockade in the Valley.
The current presidency of the European Parliament is held by Finland and it will decide on who makes the final remarks on the Kashmir debate, following which the issue will be opened for discussion, sources said.
In July 2008, the European Parliament had passed a resolution, calling on India to conduct an “independent and impartial investigation” into the unidentified mass graves discovered in Jammu and Kashmir since 2006.
EU concerned about ‘well-being’ of people
While the EU considers Article 370 as India’s internal matter, it is also “concerned about the well-being of the people in the Valley under such an unprecedented lockdown for over 40 days,” a source, representing one of the member nations of the EU, said.
“If the European Parliament conducts a debate on Kashmir it will be a mild embarrassment for India. However, it has no bearing on the ongoing UNHRC meet at Geneva,” Dilip Sinha, former Indian ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said.
In the meanwhile, some members of the European Parliament led by Richard Corbett, co-chair of the Friends of Kashmir group, have called for a travel and trade ban with India. They have also asked the European Parliament to move a resolution that can be presented to the EU.
The European Parliament is one of the seven institutions of the EU. But in matters related to foreign policy and security, the EU’s ultimate decision-making body is the European Council — which comprises of the heads of state or government of all EU countries. In 2014, the European Parliament had welcomed the seamless conduct of the first two phases of assembly elections in J&K.
When the 42nd UNHRC session began on 7 September, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had stated that the country will move a resolution on Kashmir. But sources said that it will not be easy for Islamabad to have the resolution passed because it will require at least 24 votes from among UNHRC’s 47 members.
Last week, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan had urged the UNHRC to set up a commission to inquire “Indian brutality” and “gross violations of human rights” in the Kashmir Valley.
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