§ Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley)I beg leave to hand in a petition signed by about 1,950 people, mainly from Burnley, Iancashire and the north-west, regarding Kashmir—a situation that must be worrying to many people. While people may not agree 100 per cent. with what is contained in the petition, I am sure that everyone is anxious for a peaceful solution to that problem.
The petition reads as follows:
To the honourable, the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The Humble Petition of former Kashmiris and friends of Kashmir, shewethThat whereas the United Nations Security Council passed Resolutions declaring that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations; and whereas the Indian security forces now occupying Kashmir have perpetrated gross and persistent violations of human rights of the people of Kashmir.Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your honourable House will condemn the systematic mass murders, torture, arson and rape by Indian forces of occupation in Kashmir; promote international efforts to help refugees fleeing Kashmir and to relieve the hardship and suffering of the people who remain in the territory; demand that India permit Amnesty International and other independent human rights agencies to enter Kashmir, with a view to investigating and reporting on human rights violations; and calls for the withdrawal of India's armed forces and security forces from the state of 558 Jammu and Kashmir and their replacement by an interim United Nations Administration, with the task of restoring law and order, and as soon as practicable, conducting the said plebiscite.And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray etc.
§ To lie upon the Table.