Pak refuses to host CPU meet

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has cancelled its conference to be held in Pakistan in September, after India protested against Islamabad’s decision not to invite the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the meeting.

Thursday’s decision to call off the Commonwealth parliamentary conference came as security advisers from Pakistan and India – Sartaj Aziz and Ajit Doval – prepared to meet in Delhi on Sunday to discuss a range of issues aimed at easing tensions.

Pakistan does not recognise the Indian state government in Kashmir, and had not invited the speaker of the assembly government.

Radio Pakistan reported that the National Assembly decided not to host the Commonwealth meet after a tele-conference with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on Wednesday.

India had threatened to boycott the meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan saying, “A meeting of speakers of all states unanimously decided that India will boycott the meeting of the CPU if the speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly is not invited”.

Earlier, while withholding the invitation, Islamabad said inviting the Speaker of the J&K Assembly was in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1991(1951) of March 30, 1951 and Resolution 122 (1957) of January 24, 1957, and contradicted the fundamentals of its foreign policy. He said India was trying to tarnish the image of Pakistan in the world through false propaganda.

“A detailed letter will be written to the CPA countries over the Kashmir dispute and the Kashmir issue will be raised in every forum of the Commonwealth”, Sadiq said.

He said that Pakistan had agreed to host the Conference with a view to strengthening democracy, dialogue and co-operation among the developing countries of the Commonwealth.

“Pakistan is nobody to pronounce Hurriyat as the official representative of Kashmir”. The unsettled dispute remains the flashpoint for regional peace and stability and is very much alive on the United Nations’ agenda, it said. He said that the Parliament of Pakistan hopes to host the friends and well-wishers of democracy and people’s right of self-determination when there is conducive environment.