Pakistan: The Muslim Conference, including structure, mandate, activities, leaders, current status, and treatment of members by Azad Kashmir and Pakistani authorities (January 1997-May 2000)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 4 May 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAK34315.E |
| Reference | 4 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: The Muslim Conference, including structure, mandate, activities, leaders, current status, and treatment of members by Azad Kashmir and Pakistani authorities (January 1997-May 2000), 4 May 2000, PAK34315.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad704c.html [accessed 6 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Recent information on the Muslim Conference (MC) is limited among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. No information on the MC structure or the activities could be found.
The elections of June 1996 brought to an end the five-year rule of the MC and brought to power the Kashmiri chapter of the Pakistan Peoples Party (AKPP) (AFP 26 June 1997; Dawn 8 Apr. 1998). Except for a brief period in 1990, the MC had ruled Azad Kashmir for 13 years (Political Handbook of the World 1999 1999, 749). On 30 July 1996 AKPP leader Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry replaced out-going state Prime Minister Sardar [title] Abdul Qayyum of the MC (AFP 26 June 1997; Dawn 8 Apr. 1998; Political Handbook of the World 1999 1999, 749). On 12 August 1996, the President of Azad Kashmir, Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan and the-then president of the MC, lost a no-confidence motion in the Assembly and on 25 August 1996 was replaced by PPP Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (DWS 13 Aug. 1996; Political Handbook of the World 1995-1996 1996, 720; Political Handbook of the World 1999 1999, 749).
Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan is president of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (AJKMC) (Dawn 28 Dec. 1998; Business Recorder 7 June 1999; ibid. 12 Mar. 2000). Chief Organizer of the AJKMC, based in Rawalpindi, is Sardar Attiq Ahmed Khan, son of Sardar Abdul Qayyum (Express India 7 Dec. 1999). Names of other MC leaders could not be found among the sources consulted.
Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, the former-president of Azad Kashmir and former president of the MC, is now leader of his own faction of the MC (S) (Dawn 28 Dec. 1999; Business Recorder 6 Feb. 2000; Political Handbook of the World 1995-1996 1996, 720).
Since its formation in 1948, the MC was "dedicated to the liberation of Kashmir from the Indian Union" (Political Parties of Asia and the Pacific 1985, 881), and has supported the idea that the status of Jammu and Kashmir be resolved by plebiscite (Political Handbook of the World 1995-1996 1996, 720). Qayyum stated in March 2000 that although several options exist regarding the issue of Kashmir, "there was no alternative to [the] right to self-determination" (Business Recorder 12 Mar. 2000). He maintained that the MC had supported the idea of Kashmir's accession to Pakistan since the very beginning and insisted that "preservation of national identity and ideological boundaries are the prime objective and obligation of MC activists." (Business Recorder 10 May 1999). Qayyum also stated that his party "fully supported a solution in line with the resolutions passed on this issue by the United Nations" (ibid. 12 Mar. 2000; ibid. 7 June 1999).
Only two reports describing the treatment of MC members could be found among the sources consulted:
In late June 1997 MC supporters clashed with supporters of Mahmood in Budda Bari, resulting in one death and 10 injured (AFP 26 June 1997). Qayyum's supporters claimed the previous elections had been rigged and called for new ones (ibid.). AFP also reported that, according to official sources, 45 MC workers were arrested in the state capital of Muzaffarabad on arson charges, while "many others" were taken into custody in other towns (ibid.).
A 3 March 2000 daily press summary issued by the Ministry of Information reported that the Muzzaffarabad City Muslim Conference (Qayyum) in Azad Kashmir held a torch rally and protested Indian atrocities in Lanjot village, AK specifically, as well as those carried out in Azad Kashmir and the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The protesters marched from the Central Press Club to the UN Military Observer Office (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Agence France Presse (AFP). 26 June 1997. "Two Killed, Scores Injured in Violence in Pakistani Kashmir." (NEXIS)
Business Recorder [Lahore/Karachi]. 12 March 2000. Zahid Baig. "'No Instant Kashmir Solution Possible With Clinton's Visit'."
_____. 6 February 2000. "Pakistan Chief Executive Briefed by Azad Kashmir Leaders."
_____. 7 June 1999. "India Urged to Accept Ground Realities in Held Kashmir."
_____. 10 May 1999. "Qayyum Asks Muslim Conference Workers to Protect Two-Nation Theory."
Dawn [Karachi]. 28 December 1999. "Delhi's Allegations Baseless, Says CE."
_____. 8 April 1998. Tariq Naqash. "The Strange Mindset of AJKPP Men."
The Indian Express [Mumbai/Bombay]. 7 December 1999. "Kashmir Militants Acquired Sophistication After Kargil, Says Attiq Khan."
Pakistan. Ministry of Information. 3 March 2000. Daily Press Summary. "MC Torch-Bearing Demonstration." pid_March032000.html> [Accessed 2 May 2000] Political Handbook of the World 1999. 1999. Edited by Arthur S. Banks and Thomas C. Muller. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications. Political Handbook of the World 1995-1996. 1996. Edited by Arthur S. Banks et al. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications. Political Parties of Asia and the Pacific. 1985. Vol. 2. Edited by Haruhiro Fukui. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. Amnesty International Report 1999. 1999. Asian Studies Institute Publications [Wellington, NZ]. 22 March 1999. Rajat Ganguly. "India, Pakistan and the Kashmir Dispute." Asian Survey [Berkeley, Calif.]. Monthly. January 1997-December 1998. _____. Bi-monthly. January/February 1999-November/December 1999. DIRB. August 1997. Pakistan: Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas. The Europa World Year Book 1999. 1999. Human Rights Commission in Pakistan (HRCP). February 1998. State of Human Rights in 1997. IRB Databases. Jane's Intelligence Review [Surrey]. Monthly. January 1998-April 2000. Political Handbook of the World 1998. 1998. Political Handbook of the World 1997. 1997. Research Directorate. August 1999. Human Rights Information Package: Pakistan. Resource Centre. "Pakistan" country file. February 1999-April 1999. July 1999-April 2000. UNHCR. May 1998. Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Pakistan. Internet search engines, including: World News Connection (WNC)Additional Sources Consulted
