In a significant development, the European Parliament (EP) has linked signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India to the Kashmir dispute. A local daily in Srinagar reported that paragraph-33 of the resolution passed by the European Parliament on May 11, 2011, over the FTA between India and European Union states that human rights, democracy and security are essential elements of relationship between EU and India.
“Therefore, we call on both sides to ensure that dialogue on open issues is stepped up with particular reference to Kashmir,” the resolution added. The resolution for expediting the dialogue over the Kashmir dispute came in the wake of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s visit to the European Union headquarters at Brussels last month and the frequent trips by EU ambassadors to the occupied territory.
Earlier, the EU had termed Kashmir as the world’s most beautiful prison. Its Parliament had also passed a resolution in 2008, asking New Delhi to urgently ensure independent and impartial investigations into all suspected sites of mass graves in occupied Kashmir. Meanwhile, the APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in a media interview in Srinagar, welcomed the EP resolution of linking FTA with Kashmir. “This is a positive development with reference to the Kashmir dispute. We seek their facilitation for resolving the dispute. I met different Parliamentarians of EU during my visit to Brussels in the first week of May and apprised them of different aspects of the problem,” he added.
