CPA has not invited presiding officers of two houses of Jammu and Kashmir assembly
India on Friday announced that it will boycott the meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in Pakistan. The provocation is that hosts Pakistan, while inviting speakers of all the state assemblies, didn't invite presiding officers of two Houses of Jammu and Kashmir legislature, citing disputed nature of the territory and a 60-year old UN Security Council resolution.
Pakistan is hosting the 61st CPA conference in Islamabad from September 30 to October 8. Under the norms, the host country is authorised to send invitations to the member countries and their state branches for the summit.
Ironically, in 2007 at the height of peace process between the two countries, Pakistan had allowed J&K legislature to proceed to attend the CPA meeting in their country.
An emergency meeting of Speakers and Chairmen of Legislative Bodies in India was convened by the Lok Sabha Speaker, Sumitra Mahajan in a resolution decided to boycott Islamabad meeting in solidarity with the presiding officers of J&K assembly. The resolution also asked the CPA Secretariat to shift the venue from Islamabad.
"We all (the Chairs of state assemblies) met today (Friday) and have decided that we will boycott the CPA if Pakistan does not send the invite to J&K," Mahajan said. "Either the venue needs to be changed or we will not attend," the resolution said.
"They cited some old rule and said they had mentioned that they will not send the invite to J&K as the issue is in the UN Security Council," Mahajan said. She said J&K was an inseparable part of India and Pakistan's decision was not acceptable.
India is represented in the CPA, through its 31 branches that constitute speakers and representatives from state assemblies. So far as relevant provision in the CPA constitution is concerned, Article 8 provides that each branch shall be entitled to send prescribed number of delegates and officials to each plenary conference and accordingly Jammu and Kashmir branch is entitled to send one delegate to the conference.
The meeting resolved to call upon Dr Shirin Chaudhury, Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament and Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee to use her good offices to immediately resolve the matter and ensure issue of invitation to the Jammu & Kashmir, failing which India will boycott the 61st Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Islamabad.
Political parties unite
Pakistan's snub to speaker has triggered a major political storm with almost all the mainstream parties rallying behind the speaker to hit out at Pakistan for questioning the representative character of the assembly.
Main opposition National Conference lambasted Pakistan for not inviting J&K speaker saying assembly represents the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Apart from the fact that he belongs to BJP, one thing is sure that the speaker represents the assembly which has a representative character of the state. It is no business of Pakistan to put a question mark on the representative character of the assembly. It cannot trespass the legitimacy of the Assembly," said Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, chief spokesman of NC.
BJP took a strong objection to Pakistan for denying invite to speaker saying it proves that the neighbouring country does not believe in democratic set up. "Pakistan does not believe in democracy. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir has been deprived of democracy. They are feeling threatened," said Khalid Jahangir, BJP spokesman for Kashmir.
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