ISLAMABAD March 12: Dele-gations of the country’s six leading political parties held a meeting with the visiting chief of the United Nations High Commiss-ioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, on her invitation and exchanged views on human rights in Kashmir, India, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

The delegations belonged to the Pakistan People’s Party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the PML-QA, the Jamaat-i-Islami, the Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf and the Millat Party.

Sharing politicians’ concerns over the tirade against the Muslims in the name of terrorism, she said she had expressed her concerns about human rights’ violations in dealing with the Afghan prisoners and that she would talk with the Indian leadership about the carnage of the Muslims in Gujarat and human rights’ violations in Kashmir.

A three-member PPP delegation, comprising former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, human rights cell coordinator Fauzia Wahab and Asif Zardari’s counsel, Farooq H. Naek, expressed reservations about the claim of the military regime that the October polls would be fair, saying that the government had repeatedly stated that PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto would not be allowed to take part in the elections.

The PML-N delegation, comprising former chairman of the foreign affairs committee Akram Zaki and former deputy chairman of the planning commission Ahsan Iqbal, informed Ms Robinson about the military coup of October 1999.

Mr Zaki urged the UN to help defuse tensions between India and Pakistan by implementing the resolution on Kashmir. He also called for an end to the brutalities against the Indian Muslims and the Palestinians.

He alleged that the military regime was bent upon distorting a consensus constitution to ensure that its control over the future elected government continued. The delegation told the UN official that there were apprehensions in people’s minds about the fairness of the general election, and that the apprehensions could only be allayed by making the election commission of Pakistan independent and powerful.

The PML-QA delegation, consisting of Ijazul Haq and Col (retd) Ghulam Sarwar Cheema, impressed upon Ms Robinson the need to persuade India and Israel to stop killings of citizens on the pretext of fighting against terrorism.

The Jamaat-i-Islami delegation was led by Liaqaut Baloch and comprised Asadullah Bhutto and Asif Luqman Qazi. The JI team invited the attention of Ms Robinson towards the human rights’ violations in Kashmir and the recent communal riots in the Gujarat province of India, and asked the UN to play its role to stop target killings of the Muslims by various powers in the name of fight against terrorism.

The PTI delegation consisted of Secretary-General Meraj Mohammad Khan, Information Secretary Akbar S. Babar, Sardar Azhar Tariq and Saifullah Niazi, members of the steering committee.

The delegation expressed concern over the treatment of Pakistani citizens held in Afghanistan and in Cuba without any trial and demanded of the UN official to use her influence to get the prisoners released at the earliest.

The PTI leaders also called upon her to use her good office to rid the country of huge foreign-debt burden in order to ameliorate its economic conditions.

The Millat party was represented by its secretary-general, Mohammad Ali Durrani, and member Aela Malik.

Ms Robinson announced that she would form a group of renowned human rightists to observe, monitor and advise the UN on the happenings in the occupied Kashmir.

She made this announcement during a meeting with the Kashmiri women’s delegation of the Dukhtaran-i- Kashmir and the Kashmir Women Forum led by Dr Naseem Jogezai and Prof Shamima Shaal.

A delegation of the National Kashmir Committee (NKC), led by its chairman, Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan, also met UN official.

A memorandum was handed over to Ms Robinson by women’s delegation, which called upon the UNCHR to play its role in ending the humiliation of the Kashmiri women.

They demanded of her to help set up women rehabilitation centres in Srinagar and other places.