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Commonwealth meet venue shifted to NY

Islamabad - The event will no longer be held in Islamabad as Pakistan earlier declined to invite the speaker of Indian-held Kashmir's assembly as demanded by India.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Union (CPU) event scheduled to be held in Islamabad next month will now be held in New York, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said on Thursday.
The event will no longer be held in Islamabad as Pakistan earlier declined to invite the speaker of Indian-held Kashmir's assembly as demanded by India.
"We have clarified to the London Secretariat of Commonwealth that Kashmir is a disputed territory and now it is impossible for the Commonwealth Conference to be held in Pakistan," he said.
"A detailed letter will be written to the CPA countries over the Kashmir dispute and the Kashmir issue will be raised at every forum of the Commonwealth," the speaker added.
Emphasising the Kashmir importance of Kashmir issue, Sadiq said, "Pakistan cannot overlook the cause Kashmir at any cost".
He said that shifting of the conference venue would provide a greater opportunity to Pakistan to vigorously highlight the Kashmir dispute at international level. He said Pakistan will now take the Kashmir issue to a new level.
He said that he is firm in his stance that the Indian-administered Kashmir assembly speaker would not be invited to the talks.
"The decision to hold the event in Pakistan was made on the basis that the Indian Kashmir assembly speaker would not be invited to the conference," he said.
Late last year, more than 200 parliamentarians from 53 countries of the Commonwealth chose Pakistan as the venue for this year's Commonwealth Parliamentary Assembly session.
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