Avoid backing militants in Kashmir: Pakistan panel

A Pakistani parliamentary panel has asked the Sharif government to avoid “encouraging” support to militant groups in Kashmir and take action against outfits involved in attacks there to dispel international concerns.

The National Assembly standing committee on foreign affairs Monday issued a four-page policy paper linked to Kashmir, the Express Tribune reported. “Pakistan should not encourage calls for active support to armed, banned, militant groups in Kashmir,” the paper, that has recommended a series of policy changes on the Indo-Pak ties, said.

India has been demanding that Pakistan act against militant groups operating from its soil. The committee, headed by ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) legislator Awais Ahmad Leghari, proposed the Sharif government to take action against “violent armed outfits” to dispel international concerns that Pakistan was not doing enough against groups involved in attacks in Kashmir.

The committee agreed that Pakistan’s approach towards India should be based on the principles of reciprocity from New Delhi that may be simultaneous or sequential, reduction of trust deficit between the two countries through collaborative efforts, resumption of dialogue and result-oriented dialogue that must focus on resolution of conflict which will be the end result of the above three principles of engagement, said an official statement.

The committee recommended that Pakistan should continue to seek comprehensive engagement with India on all outstanding issues. However, in the absence of this scenario, the committee recommended the government of Pakistan selectively engage with India in four key areas, including resolution of Kashmir issues, water, bilateral dialogue, trade, cultural and communication and restrainment, it said.

The committee noted that the selective engagement will not only help resolve issues that are not only critical to Pakistan’s long-term sustainability as a nation, but will do so by appealing to the needs of both countries and on a relatively equal footing.

Furthermore, initiating the resolution of conflict by taking proactive measures, Pakistan will increase its support in South Asia and the international community, giving it more political clout in the long run, it said. The committee recommended Pakistan should continue to call for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute as the core issue between the two countries. Continuity of the proactive diplomacy on Kashmir on all international fora should be pursued. A key component of Pakistan’s proactive inv-olvement on the Kashmir issue should be lending solid moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri’s struggle for self-determination according to the UN Resolutions, it said.

On the water issue, the panel said the issues should be discussed holistically rather than focusing on particular projects. It called for highlighting issues related to the Indus Water Treaty in international forums. On trade, the committee said Pakistan should focus more on reducing and controlling informal trade with India. “This can be done through enhancing the capacity of the customs department and the border forces. Furthermore, by relaxing the process to acquire visa, informal trade can be controlled,” it said.