December 12, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 17, 1424

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MUZAFFARABAD, Dec 11: The AJK Legislative Assembly on Thursday condemned the ongoing fencing of the Line of Control by India and asked Islamabad to use its good offices to thwart the attempt.

“This house expresses serious concern and strongly condemns fencing of the LoC by India which is not only against the basic rights of the Kashmiris but also in sheer violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Kashmir,” the house said in a unanimously adopted resolution.

Viewing the act as “exploitation and misapplication” of the ceasefire, the resolution urged Islamabad to seriously take up the issue to prevent India from fencing the unmarked line.

The resolution, however, welcomed the stoppage of shelling, saying it was a long cherished desire of the people living along the LoC and had mitigated their sufferings to a great extent.

It also welcomed the proposed Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service but cautioned that the move, if launched with the condition of passport and visa, would face strong opposition.

Earlier, during the debate, Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat welcomed the unconditional ceasefire along the LoC.

Former prime minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan said journey to Indian occupied Kashmir on passport and visa meant betrayal with the cause of Kashmir.

He expressed his concern over the split in the APHC. He said: “No one should be considered as traitor or Indian agent. We should not even call Farooq Abdullah a betrayer. We don’t know under what compulsions or conditions he has been supporting India.”

Finance Minister Shah Ghulam Qadir said the involvement of Kashmiris was a must for the resolution of the Kashmir problem and the establishment of peace in the region.

Muslim Conference President Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan proposed setting up of a “peace park” somewhere along the LoC where Kashmiris and their leaders from both sides could meet each other.

Opposition’s Gulzar Fatima said the ceasefire and other peace initiatives by the two countries were not being taken with good intentions but only under coercion.