New Delhi: Britain may not have any official engagement with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi when he visits London next week to take part in a controversial, anti-India conference on Kashmir.
Sources said though the event may not be stopped, there will be no official engagement with Qureshi. “Qureshi is visiting London where he would attend private events but there is no plan for meetings with the UK government during the visit,” sources said.
The conference will be held inside the British Parliament complex on 4 February. According to the sources, Qureshi may not be given an official welcome during his London visit and that the British government is likely to distance itself from the proceedings.
The proposed conference is organized by All-Party Parliamentary Group on Pakistan (APPG-Pakistan), a group which includes both Conservatives and Labour Party MPs. This would be followed by an exhibition in London to “highlight the centrality of Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the human rights violation there.”
This follows India taking up the issue “very strongly” with the UK. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India expects the British government to address its concerns on the issue. “The conference is very clearly intended to undermine unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of India,” he added.
“We hope they will understand our objections. As a friendly country and as a strategic partner, we hope that the British government will address our concerns which we have explained to them on the proposed conference. The event reflects Pakistan’s duplicity in its relations with India,” Kumar said.
On a query by The Sunday Guardian whether there is deterioration on Pakistan’s side as far as understanding of India’s sensitivities are concerned under the new government headed by Imran Khan, Kumar said: “We have noticed in recent months the level at which the anti-India sentiments are being pushed across the world. I think this is something which is unprecedented.”