International   

`All Kashmiris rejected Emma report'

Nirupama Subramanian

Their response "outweighs the views of an individual in Europe'

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Foreign Ministry on Monday indicated that the letter by the country's Ambassador to Brussels, staking claim to the Northern Areas, might not have had its backing.

Asked about the letter by the envoy to Baroness Emma Nicholson, author of a report on Kashmir the European Parliament adopted last week, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said her government's position on the Northern Areas was "well known."

As recommended by United Nations Security Council resolutions, a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir "was to cover the Northern Areas as well," the spokesperson said at a weekly media briefing here.

Without explicitly contradicting the envoy's letter, the spokesperson said "all these areas were to be addressed in the overall settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute."

"That is why the President of Pakistan has stated in his proposals that the identification of the regions is the first point along with demilitarisation, self-governance and joint management." Asked directly whether Pakistan considered the Northern Areas part of its territory, she would only say, "I have stated our position."

"Not a failure"

Ms. Aslam denied a suggestion that the European Parliament's adoption of Ms. Nicholson's "Report on Kashmir: Present Situation and Future Prospects" was a failure of Pakistan's foreign policy.

She said "all Kashmiris" rejected the report, and Pakistan would measure the success of its stand on the basis of their response.

"Pakistan's position and policy resonates with the Kashmiri people. For us, the test, the credibility and strength of our position and policy is how Kashmiris see it, the kind of support they give to it; not what one individual from Europe has to say about it."

The spokesperson confirmed that the Pakistan government had allowed, on "humanitarian grounds," families of missing Indian soldiers to visit 10 jails.

No PoWs

"There are no Indian prisoners of war in Pakistan," she said. Officials of Pakistan's Interior Ministry would conduct the tour beginning on June 1. Indian High Commission officials would also accompany the group.

"We want this visit to be transparent. We have nothing to hide," Ms. Aslam said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Tehran proposes mechanism to defuse Iraq violence
Japanese Minister ends life
6 killed in Sri Lanka blast
Mugabe ready to seize foreign firms
Army is an asset: Aziz
`All Kashmiris rejected Emma report'
Viking longship all set to sail
Diana documentary sparks controversy
Hope for journalist
Held for "blackmailing"

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu