Saturday, November 20, 2010
News Desk
OSLO: The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Store has maintained that the “current uprising in Kashmir is indigenous and youngsters throwing stones should not be met with bullets. Also, international standards on human rights should be upheld by all including India”.
He was concluding the maiden debate on the Kashmir conflict in the Norwegian parliament and stated that his government was encouraging India and Pakistan to solve the conflict through peaceful means as violence was no solution to their problems.
The Norwegian minster further said that Norway was constantly keeping an eye on the unfolding events in Kashmir, particularly through its embassies in New Dehli and Islamabad. He said: “The Norwegian embassy in New Dehli has raised the issue of Kashmir with the Indian government at all levels.” He recalled that he had personally talked about Kashmir during his visits to the region. He reminded the house that the Norwegian embassy participated in a joint Nordic delegation to Indian Held Jammu and Kashmir in April this year where they had taken up human rights and political situation with the representatives of the Jammu and Kashmir government and the police.
Chairman of Norwegian parliamentary Kashmir Committee Knut Arild Hareide said that peace in Afghanistan was linked to the settlement of Kashmir issue. She added that unsolved Kashmir conflict was hampering the international community’s efforts to curb terrorism worldwide.
Conservative Party’s Member Parliament Peter Skovholt Gitmark also emphasised that people of Kashmir must be included in the settlement process. He further said that a negotiated solution between Pakistan and India must also reflect the wishes of the local people.
Other who participated in the debate included Svein Roald Hansen, MP for the Labour Party, Tone Liljeroth, MP for the Progress Party, MP Peter N Myhre of the Norwegian Progress Party and Akhtar Chaudhry of the Socialist Left Party.
Sardar Ali Shahnawaz Khan, Executive Director Kashmiri Scandinavian Council, Oslo, lauded the Norwegian Foreign Minister and Chairman Kashmir Committee Knut Arild Hareide for debating Kashmir in the Norwegian parliament and condemning the human rights violations publicly.
He said it was encouraging that all parties of Norway unanimously urged India and Pakistan to include the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the settlement process. He said it would set an example for other countries and their parliaments to come up publicly and condemn at least human rights violations and support the Kashmiris’ cause for the right of self-determination.
.
