Kashmir

23.

Mr. Austin-Walker
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to raise the situation in Kashmir with the Governments of India and Pakistan.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd
We shall continue to raise our concerns about Kashmir in our regular dialogue with the Governments of India and Pakistan.

Mr. Austin-Walker
In being—as the Minister put it earlier—a friend to both India and Pakistan, are not the Government being all things to all people? That is hardly an honourable position in the face of such violations of human rights.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd
As I indicated in my answers to an earlier series of questions, of course we make representations about the abuse of human rights whenever appropriate. First, terrorism constitutes such an abuse and must be put down by a legitimate Government. Secondly, we make it clear that the putting down of such abuse must be done by proper means, and we have criticised the conduct of the Indian Government in the past.