Talks only solution to Kashmir issue: Jack Straw
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk Report

GUJRAT: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Tuesday that only dialogue between India and Pakistan could lead to the peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue while the alternative was war that would bring devastation to the region.

However, he avoided to refer to the United Nations resolutions on this issue as an option despite the fact that earlier in his speech, the Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had urged the world community to help resolve the issue according to UN resolutions.

Jack Straw was addressing a gathering at the District Council Hall in Gujrat. Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, British High Commissioner Mark Lyall Grant, Nazim District Government Gujrat Chaudhry Shafaat Hussain, Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood, MNA Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, representatives of the district government, citizens of Gujrat and a few Pakistanis living in Jack Straw’s constituency in UK were also present on the occasion.

Of the Nuclear War

Referring to the Kashmir issue, he said that he knew it was very sensitive issue for Pakistanis and Indians and both countries had fought three wars due to the dispute. He added that since both countries had nuclear weapons and any future conflict would have the potential to turn into a nuclear war.

The British Foreign Secretary mentioned that during the tension on border of India and Pakistan in 2002, he along with the then US Foreign Secretary Colin Powell worked closely with both governments to persuade them in pulling back troops. He commented that in case of war between the two countries, no one would be the winner but thousands of people across the Line of Control might lose their lives.

Jack Straw said he fully agreed with CM Pervaiz Elahi’s viewpoint that peace was not an option but a must for the region. He said that the UK believed composite dialogue was the right way to achieve a just solution. He urged people on both sides to show patience and should expect moments of frustration due to slow pace of the peace process.

Good Friday Agreement

He referred to the Good Friday Agreement between the British government and Irish representatives and said that despite the agreement, in the past seven years there had been many setbacks to the deal.

The Foreign Secretary said in a way historically they were responsible for situation arising out of the Independence in 1947 and the new reality was that bilateral talks were essential to solve the conflict that also had international ramifications. He said the UK would continue supporting dialogue between India and Pakistan.

Illustrating his viewpoint on stronger ties between the UK and Pakistan, Jack Straw mentioned that around 800,000 people of Pakistani origin were living in his country. He told the gathering that many British citizens were also living in Pakistan and the British High Commission was responsible for providing services to them.

Straw explained that growth of Pakistani and other communities coming from all over the world in the UK had actually enriched the country in many ways. He said that most of the British citizens, including his family, were basically immigrants from other regions and used to speak Danish, French, German etc. He appreciated that through initiative on various counts the local ethnic minorities had contributed to the society.

Giving the example of the Asian Business Federation, he said it had been doing its bit in economic improvement.

UK-Pakistan Partnership

Jack Straw stressed the need for a real partnership between the people of Pakistan and UK. He told the audience that his government was providing support to Pakistan in education and other social sector programmes for good governance. He added that priority should be given to education of the people because it meant emancipation for them.

Religious Harmony

The Foreign Secretary shed light on religious harmony between Muslims and Christians. He said those who talked about the clash of religions or civilisations were wrong. He mentioned that whenever he listened to the translation of Quran he found similarities in the message conveyed by the Bible and Quran. He said Muslims and Christians were one people under The Almighty and their values of equality, freedom, justice, etc. were also the same.

Pointing out to the people’s concern of immigration and consular services, Mr. Straw said his government had worked very hard to improve the situation. He added that he knew there still were complaints and though it would never be perfect, he would welcome suggestions from others in that regard.

He said it was the Labour Government that gave the immigrant families the right to go into appeal against decisions. He said that feedback regarding consular services always reached him through his constituents while the British High Commissioner in Pakistan would also get directions from him.

Referring to the post-911 scenario, Straw said the government was making all possible efforts to ensure better services. He also announced that the restriction on Pakistanis of 25 years of age applying for the first time to visit UK would be lifted soon after the government was satisfied with the situation.

During a very brief question-answer session, Jack Straw was reminded about the Labour Party’s policy that recognised the UN resolutions on Kashmir as the just way to solve the issue. In his reply, he said he was aware of the fact but for ensuring peace in the region one should look forward because the only other alternative was war.

CM Punjab Welcomes

Earlier, CM Punjab Pervaiz Elahi welcomed the Foreign Secretary and told him that Gujrat was a historic city. He informed the audience that 2,500 years ago Alexander the Great happened to be in Gujrat while the nearby town Phalia was named after his horse. Pervaiz Elahi mentioned that in 1849, the British fought the battle of Gujrat.

He said that historically the city had been a land of love and war as it produced great soldiers and great romance. He stated that a number of Pakistanis from this area had migrated to the UK and that benefited both countries. He appreciated the fact that England had offered so much space to Pakistanis and Muslims in the mainstream of its society.

The CM mentioned that Lord Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir Ali (of Pakistani origin) nearly became the Archbishop of Canterbury. He added that Lord Nazir was in the House of Lords while Khalid Mahmood and Chaudhry Sarwar were MPs in the UK House of Commons. Similarly, Nasser Hussain became the captain of the cricket team in England.

Prior to his address at the District Council Hall, the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw visited a madrassah (religious seminary), Qammar-ul-Uloom Jamia Muazzamia in Gujrat and took a round of boys and girls sections. He also inaugurated a computer lab for female students of the madrassah. During his tour he was briefed about the education being provided to students and the management aspects.

This madrassah had 217 students, including 62 females, and they study in separate parts of the school. It incurs Rs. 2.2 million annually as expenditures however, the money is generated without government assistance. Students are provided all facilities including free of cost residence and food. ●