ISLAMABAD: An influential politician from Australia visited Pakistan over the weekend to get briefings on the Kashmir issue, part of growing international interest in the conflict after the United Nations landmark report on human rights in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK).
Senator Lee Rhiannon, who completed her term as senator for New South Wales last month, met here in Islamabad with Ahmed Quraishi, executive director at the Youth Forum for Kashmir (YFK), a lobby group.
A team of lobbyists at YFK, which works with UN mechanisms on the situation in Kashmir, delivered a detailed briefing to Lee Rhiannon on the Kashmir situation. YFK representative Shaista Safi briefed the Australian politician on prevalent views and opinions within the Kashmiri generation.
The YFK arranged a photo exhibit that consisted of only verified, dated and captioned pictures from the conflict zone, captured by credible international photojournalists and news organisations. Lee Rhiannon received copies of research documents prepared by YFK on aspects of the Kashmir issue that require urgent humanitarian attention.
Ahmed Quraishi said that Pakistan’s expanding influence and relations at the international level would help Kashmir freedom movement, drawing parallel to the international acceptance that led to the first UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu Kashmir.