Local MP and MEP continue to press government on Kashmir crisis

Date published: 20 September 2019

Liz McInnes, MP for Heywood and Middleton, and Theresa Griffin, MEP for the north west, are continuing to hold the government to account on the continuing crisis in Kashmir.

On 5 August, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to revoke Article 370, a clause in the country's constitution that grants Kashmir special status and allows it to pass its own laws. Since then, there have been widespread reports of state-imposed curfews, banned protests, unlawful detentions and communication blackouts.

Historically, the United Nations has played an important role in maintaining peace in Jammu and Kashmir. Since 1948, the UN Security Council (UNSC) has intervened in many disputes in the region, often holding emergency meetings and passing resolutions that have demanded ceasefires, demilitarisation and even called for the holding of a plebiscite to determine the province’s future.

The July 2019 UN Human Rights Report on Kashmir highlighted the Indian army in Kashmir acting with legal impunity, facing no legal consequences for using pellet guns as a means of crowd control despite them blinding and even killing children, nor needing to face charges for the numerous allegations of sexual violence, abductions, or attacks on journalists.

On Monday 2 September, the EU's committee on Foreign Affairs demanded that India's Prime Minister immediately lift the curfew in Kashmir.

Six weeks on, reports of internet and mobile blackouts, violent clashes between protesters and the military, unlawful detentions and torture continue.

Both Ms McInnes and Ms Griffin have written separate letters to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee to consider holding an urgent inquiry into the ongoing crisis in Kashmir, and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, calling for the EU to use all the tools at its disposal, including withholding trade deals, as part of a co-ordinated international approach to resolve this issue.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/130169/government-pressed-on-kashmir-crisis-by-local-mp-and-mep

While at a recent meeting with Foreign Officer Lord Ahmad, Ms McInnes received assurances from the government that they continue to keep a close eye on the situation and are in regular contact with officials in the Indian and Pakistani governments.

Ms McInnes said: “The significance of the situation not only has severe implications for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who have lived in a state of perpetual violence for the past 30 years, but also the peace of the wider region.

“In all interactions, members of the Foreign Office team reiterated that they were in contact with key actors in the Indian and Pakistani Governments and that they continued to monitor events closely. In terms of action taken by the UK government to resolve the situation, they held firm to the long-standing position that: ‘it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir’.

“Unfortunately, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Mr Tugendhat declined my request for an urgent inquiry. He advised that: ‘Committees do not have resources to hold inquiries into every subject they would wish’. Given that the committee recently published a report on how the UK could improve its relationship with India, with a view to increasing trade, I am surprised that they do not appear to see the situation in Kashmir as a priority.

“I, along with several other MPs whose constituents include members of diaspora communities, have received correspondence outlining concerns about the recent crisis.”

She continued: “The Labour Party recognises the significance of a positive relationship between the UK and both India and Pakistan. We also understand that any attempts to resolve matters must be bilateral.

“Furthermore, any bilateral efforts between India and Pakistan do not exempt the international community from playing a larger role in bringing about a peaceful resolution.

“Indeed, the 1972 Simla Agreement on bilateral relations between the two countries states that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir should be settled by peaceful means and in accordance with the UN Charter.

“However, we would adopt a ‘people first’ approach that prioritises the human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and breaks the vicious cycle of violence that has engulfed the region for far too long.”

Following the letter from north west MEP Theresa Griffin to the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, and the holding of a high-profile Friends of Kashmir event in the European Parliament, which featured the President of Azad Kashmir, Masood Khan, a statement has been made in the European Parliament regarding the situation in Kashmir.

Speaking in the European Parliament, Finnish Minister for European Affairs, Tytti Tuppurainen, made a statement on behalf of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, in response to the concerns raised by Theresa Griffin MEP.

Minister Tuppurainen reiterated Mrs Mogherini’s statement to the Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier this month, adding: "Mrs Mogherini has encouraged her Pakistani and Indian counterparts of the vital need for dialogue between the two countries on a phone call in August.

“No one can afford further escalation in Kashmir. Peace and Cooperation is important. The remaining restrictions should be removed and both countries must engage in dialogue.”

Ms Griffin said: “I have asked the EU High Representative to use every power at her disposal to resolve the dispute, including inserting a 'Human Rights Clause' into any trade deal with India and calling for the full implementation of the findings of the 2018 report into the situation in Kashmir by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights."

“The world is watching – we cannot stand back and do nothing while millions of people suffer.”

Ms McInnes concluded: “The UK is in a unique position with regards to Jammu and Kashmir as a result of our long-standing relationships with both of these Commonwealth countries and our close links through diaspora communities.

“Labour is calling on the UK government to use its position as a UNSC member to ask it to consider the latest lockdown in Kashmir. The UNSC could also consider issuing a resolution calling for the demilitarisation of the region, as it did with UNSCR 80, given the increased military presence in Jammu and Kashmir over the past month.

“Such actions could help towards immediate de-escalation and provide a vital foundation for finding a lasting and peaceful settlement in the region.”