EU diplomats to observe HR situation in IHK

Staff Report

NEW DELHI: A four-day roundtable conference will be held at Chashma Shahi in the Zabarwan Hills in Srinagar today (Thursday).

The meeting will be followed by a visit by a seven-member committee of European Parliament on foreign affairs, human rights, security and defence policy.

Around 44 delegates from the European Union and diplomats will attend the meeting. Indian interlocutor on Kashmir NN Vohra will also attend the conference. The delegates, led by John Cushnahan, an Irish member of parliament who was part of Pakistan’s peace process, will arrive in New Delhi on June 20. The delegation members include Bob Van Den Bos (Netherlands), David Bowe (UK), Glyn Ford (UK), Jas Gawronski (Italy), Per Gahrton (Sweden) and Luisa Morgantini, also from Italy.

Mr Cushnahan was head of the EU team that lambasted the Pervez Musharraf government for a ‘sham democracy’ in Pakistan. The team, which toured Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir last December, will prepare a report on Kashmir.

An EU official said the European delegation would visit Kashmir for a few days after the newly elected House of European Parliament starts working. The delegation would meet a cross section of people in Kashmir, the official added. In New Delhi, the delegation will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh.

Home | National