Asif Qazi of Jama’at invites British lawmakers to Pakistan

London (PNI) Asif Luqman Qazi, director foriegn affairs of Jama’at-e-Islami Pakistan, calls on Lord Qurban Hussain in the House of Lords on Wednesday.

Mr Qazi is on a visit to the UK to reach out to community leaders and strengthen bilateral relations.

Lauding services of Lord Hussain for the promotion of Kashmir cause and human rights of Kashmiris, Mr Qazi said Jama’at-e-Islami is one of the most experienced and organised political parties in Pakistan and has a pivotal role in the freedom movement in Kashmir.

During their meeting, the two leaders stressed on the “importance of strengthening the cultural bonds of the British Pakistani youth with Pakistani heritage.”

Mr Qazi said: “it is important to inculcate strong character in youth so that they become productive citizens of the United Kingdom .”

In this regard, Mr Qazi said: “Islamic organisations can play an important role.”

The two leaders agreed that the right of self-detemination of the Kashmiris must be supported by the people of Pakistan and state institutions of the country.

They agreed that Kashmiris are the primary party to the Kashmir dispute and any solution to the Kashmir issue will have to take opinion of Kashmiris into the account.

“Securing debate on Kashmir in the house of Lords by Lord Qurban was a big achievement,” Qazi said, adding it helped strengthen Kashmir cause at internationallevel.

Recalling that Lord Qurban raised issues of Kashmiri political prisoners, black laws, illegal detentions of Kashmiris, suppression of media in Kashmir, Mr Qazi said: “Lord Qurban has proved to be a great friend of Kashmiris.”

Mr Qazi also briefly met Lord Wajid Khan, MP Tahir Ali, MP Imran Hussain and MP Khalid Mahmood.

The visiting Jama’at-e-Islami leader invited the Pakistani-origin British lawmakers to visit Pakistan and to get first hand knowledge of how the largest Islamic party works and operates.