Pak civil society condemns Kashmir killings (Rising Kashmir News ISLAMABAD) Participants of a civil society dialogue held in Islamabad on Sunday condemned the recent civilian killings in Kashmir. The participants reminded Government of India its obligation to protect the right to life in accordance with international law. They unanimously demanded the revocation of Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) to improve the ground situation and conduct an independent inquiry into the use of excessive force against the civilians including many children in the valley. The participants including civil society activists, politicians, legislators, journalists, former government officials from Pakistan administered Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and refugees settled in Pakistan were holding deliberations as part of civil society dialogue titled “Chinars’ Old Leaves are Falling – Fresh Saplings in the First Citizens’ Dialogue on Kashmir” jointly organized by the Centre for Peace, Development and Reforms (CPDR) and the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fur die Freiheit (FNF), supported by the European Union.
They also extended full support to the India-Pakistan dialogue ahead of the India-Pakistan foreign ministers’ meeting to be held on July 15 in Islamabad.
The participants unanimously agreed that sustained and long term engagement along with people to people interaction between the masses such as civil society, media and law makers of two countries is a primary need essential to solve all outstanding disputes in the region through peaceful means. They strongly urged India and Pakistan to take effective and assertive measures making the renewed process meaningful, productive and result oriented “so that people of Jammu and Kashmir across LoC could own and wholeheartedly support the peace process in the long run”.
The participants while appreciating the Confidence Building Measures (CBM), taken by both governments in past demanded they take some creative steps to make them more meaningful and hassle free. They asked Delhi and Islamabad to further facilitate intra-Kashmir travel and trade.
