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Bhutto comments on Nicholson’s Kashmir report

Statement by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, on Nicholson’s Kashmir Report

24 May 2007

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, welcomes the European Union Report presented by Baroness Emma Nicholson for drawing attention to the right of self determination of the Kashmiri people;

* for reaffirming the EU’s commitment to the settlement of disputes by peaceful means;
* for taking note of the impact of the earthquake on the people of AJK and for urging the European Union to help and support the Kashmiris in this regard;

* for supporting the role of the composite peace process in moving towards a durable settlement for the Kashmiris based on democracy, rule of law and respect for fundamental rights;
* for urging the Indian and Pakistan governments to facilitate the ceasefire on the Line of Control by calling further on militant armed groups to enroll in a disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation process;
* for encouraging the Pakistan government to transform the ceasefire in place in Siachin since 2003 into a lasting peace agreement;
* for urging both governments to allow international human rights organizations immediate and unrestricted access to all parts of the former princely state in order to investigate the human rights situation there;
* for calling on the Indian Government to put an end to all practices of extrajudicial killings ” disappearances” , torture and arbitrary detentions in Jammu and Kashmir;
* for calling on the Indian and Pakistani authorities to ease restrictions on travel between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad;
* for urging Pakistan to revisit its concepts of fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of religious practices in AJK and Gilgit and Baltistan;
* for calling for the first elections to be held in Gilgit and Baltistan and for seeking higher democratic representation in the Northern Areas;
* for supporting the ICG’s 2006 recommendations to disarm militants, shut down terrorist training camps, stop terrorist recruitment and end the flow of money and weapons to the Taliban and other foreign or local militants on Pakistani territory;
* for strong support of regional integration, trade liberalization, and economic cooperation, and to strengthen organizations such as SAARC and SAFTA;
* and for placing a high value on democracy and human rights for all the people in the region; particularly for those lacking in fundamental freedoms.

The Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, has always stood firm in her belief in the value of non-violent solutions to conflict, the blurring of hard lines and the promotion of softer borders, the primacy of trade, economic liberalization and regional integration, and the re-assertion of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms in all areas of India, Pakistan and Kashmir.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto therefore supports the recommendations of the EU report introduced in April 2007 which calls for all of the objectives outlined above, in the interests of the Kashmiri people.

ENDS