Tory MP leads House debate
British MPs on Thursday afternoon started a general debate on human rights in the Indian Subcontinent, specifically covering Kashmir and Sri Lanka.
Defending the House of Commons debate, Conservative MP for Ilford North Lee Scott said that the protests from the Indian and Sri Lankan governments did not affect the right of MPs to discuss any issue.
“We are perfectly within rights to debate the issues in the House of Commons that affect our constituents, their families and their concerns,” he said in the beginning stages of the debate.
“The House is independent of the government policy,” Tory MP Andrew Griffiths, who is vice-chairman of all-party group on Pakistan and Kashmir.
The debate was led by Conservative MP for Wycombe Steve Baker, who was joined by Tory MPs Jason McCartney and Andrew Griffiths and Labour MPs Denis MacShane and Nic Dakin in securing a debate on human rights in Kashmir. The five MPs have called for the UK Parliament to demand real progress towards human rights and democratic self-determination for Kashmiris.
Admitting that the J&K Public Security Act, which he was criticising in the House was similar to control orders in force in the UK, Mr Baker said that he could not be accused of hypocrisy as he had opposed the control orders too.
“I am delighted that Parliament will have this opportunity to debate human rights in Kashmir and Sri Lanka in the main chamber of the House of Commons. The cause of Kashmir has never received the prominence it should in British public debate,” Mr Baker said before the debate.
Ian Austin, Labour MP for Dudley, said that the Kashmir issue had to be resolved soon as even “bin Laden had used the Kashmir issue to explain the attacks on the West.”
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