Fwd: [bangla-vision] European Parliament links FTA with Kashmir

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Habib Yousafzai <yousafzai49@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 10:21 AM
Subject: [bangla-vision] European Parliament links FTA with Kashmir

 

European Parliament links FTA with Kashmir

UMER MAQBOOL

Srinagar, June 12: In a significant development the European Parliament (EP) has linked Kashmir issue with signing of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India.The para-33 of the resolution, a copy of which is with Greater Kashmir, passed by the European Parliament (EP) on May 11, 2011 over the FTA between India and European Union states: "Human rights, democracy and security are essential elements of the relationship between EU and India. Therefore we call on both the sides to ensure that dialogue on open issues is stepped with particular reference to Kashmir."
 

The resolution for expediting the dialogue over the Kashmir issue comes in the wake of Hurriyat (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's visit to EU headquarters at Brussels last month and the frequent trips of its Ambassadors to Jammu and Kashmir  to meet different shades of  the opinion.

Earlier, the EU had termed Kashmir as world's must beautiful prison and its Parliament had also passed the resolution asking New Delhi "to urgently ensure independent and impartial investigations into all suspected sites of mass graves in JK and as an immediate first step to secure the grave sites in order to preserve the evidence" in 2008.
 

Meanwhile, Chairman of Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq welcomed the EP resolution of linking FTA with Kashmir "This is a positive development as far as the Kashmir issue is concerned. We have been seeking their facilitation for resolving the dispute. I met different Parliamentarians of EU during my visit to Brussels in first week of May and apprised them about different aspects of the issue," Mirwaiz told Greater Kashmir. 

BACKGROUND 
Though the parameters for an FTA between EU and India were set out in the report of High level Trade group in October 2006, but no headway was made till date over it despite ten rounds of talks from 2007.  During 2010, India was ranked eighth most important trading partner of EU. The EU is also India's largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), accounting to 27 per cent of total FDI in 2009.

__._,_.___

Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/