BinB News | BinB Events Town Sites | Ascot | Bracknell | Henley | Maidenhead | Marlow | Newbury | Slough | Reading | Windsor | Wokingham
Kashmir Group Condemns Baroness Nicholson'e Report to European Parliament |
(Photo: Philip Lee Harvey)
Members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir met with Pakistan High Commissioner, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, today in the House of Commons and unanimously agreed to support a series of amendments which were highly critical of the draft report on Kashmir to the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee tabled by Lib Dem MEP, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne. A specially convened emergency meeting of the group issued a strongly worded statement on the 28th November describing the report as ‘fundamentally flawed’ and a ‘not a true reflection of the current situation in Kashmir’. Now the group has enlisted the support of MEP, Richard Howitt, Labour Foreign Affairs Spokesperson in the European Parliament who has agreed to press for significant amendments to the report along the lines of the criticisms raised by his colleagues in Westminster. Dr Maleeha Lodhi, said: “I appreciate the efforts of those MPs who attended the meeting of the APPG on Kashmir and those others who have called for substantial amendments to this unacceptable report. I hope that the European Parliament will now take notice of the strong message that is coming out of Westminster.“ MPs have also tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) 348 which describes Baroness Nicholson’s report as one-sided and calls upon the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee to produce a more balanced report. Secretary to the APPG on Kashmir, Martin Salter MP, who is also a signatory to EDM 348 said: “There has been genuine outrage right the way across the political divide at Baroness Nicholson’s analysis of the Kashmir situation. "This dreadful report is not based on evidence nor is it the subject of meaningful dialogue with the political representatives of the Kashmiri people. "We all want to see a resolution to this longstanding dispute but nothing will be served by simply demonising the government of Pakistan or denying the Kashmiri’s their long-held claim to a plebiscite on the future of their country.” Richard Howitt MEP, Member of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee said: “The peace process in Kashmir is at a crucial stage and we must make sure that the European Parliament does everything possible to support positive moves. "I am delighted to be working with my Westminster colleagues to seek balanced amendments to this skewed report.” Martin Salter has agreed to forward the amendments to the draft report to the European Parliament in advance of the January 10th deadline. |
