Row over not including Indian representatives

LONDON : A meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir this week received a critical update on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir from the president of Pakistanoccupied Kashmir, Masood Khan, prompting charges that it was no more than “Pakistani propaganda”.

There was no representative to provide the Indian perspective to the group comprising MPs from the ruling Conservative and opposition Labour parties. Some leaders of the UK-based Kashmiri diaspora alleged that despite requests to attend the event, they were not invited.

Categorised as a “country group”, the AAPG on Kashmir is one of many informal cross-party groups that have no official status within the UK Parliament, but are governed by rules set by the House and are subject to oversight by the parliamentary standards commissioner. APPGs focus on countries and subjects, and invite leading lights for hearings and events. Chaired by Labour MP Chris Leslie, the 10-member group on Kashmir has seven Labour lawmakers – including Indian-origin Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi – and three from the Conservative Party. The meeting on Thursday was also attended by Pakistan high commissioner Syed Ibne Abbas.

Efforts to contact Leslie on the meeting did not elicit a response, but senior Conservative MP Bob Blackman said: “The APPG for Kashmir is merely a forum for those who support the illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan. Sadly, we have been prevented from forming a Jammu and Kashmir APPG as the Kashmir one already exists.

“The fact that they refuse to allow supporters of the legal position, that Jammu and Kashmir in its entirety is a part of India, demonstrates that they are merely pandering to the Pakistani propaganda machine. It is extremely sad that they refuse to invite organisations that hold a different view to their meetings.”