Kashmir CM to address European Parliament

SRINAGAR: Chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is expected to be the first chief executive of any state in India to make a speech to the European Parliament. Officials in Srinagar said Azad has received an invitation and is most likely to accept the rare honour.

Sources said the European Parliament wants Azad to speak to the session on September 18 and 19. Though no details were immediately available about a particular issue that Azad would talk about, officials said it is understood that the Kashmir issue and the ongoing peace making on either side of the Redcliff Line would be the focus of his possible speech.

He would showcase his efforts of getting Kashmir back to the tracks, officials’ privy of the developments said.

A community institution, EP has 732 representatives directly elected from 25 member states. The last elections to the EP for a five-year term were held in June 2004. It is a major European forum that discusses issues of mutual interest besides taking stock of global issues.

EP meets in full session in Strasbourg for about one week every month, although its committee work normally takes place in BrusselsThough it has been debating the state of human rights almost every year, in 2004 it had set up a group on Kashmir under the leadership of John Walls Cushnahan.

It was this seven-member group — Ad Hoc Delegation from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy — that gave a detailed report terming Kashmir as world’s beautiful prison. Interestingly Azad was one of the dozens of people with whom the group has interactions .