Information on the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples National Party (JKPNP), other than that provided below, is scarce among the sources consulted by the DIRB. The following Responses to Information Requests, available at Regional Documentation Centres and on SHARENet, also provide information on the JKPNP: PAK15491.E of 8 October 1993, ZZZ19818.E of 20 February 1995, PAK20262.E of 4 April 1995, on the JKPNP and its differences with the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and PAK20183.EX of 30 May 1995 on Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas.

Information provided in Responses to Information Requests ZZZ19818.E of 20 February 1995, PAK20262.E of 4 April 1995, and PAK20183.EX of 30 May 1995 indicate that Shaukat Ali Kashmiri is the JKPNP general secretary. However, the attached 14 February 1997 India Abroad article states that Shaukat Ali Kashmiri is the chairman of the United Kashmir Peoples National Party (UKPNP).

India Abroad of 1 July 1994 refers to Afzal Tahir as the leader of the JKPNP, which is corroborated by Response to Information Request ZZZ19818.E of 20 February 1995.

Response to Information Request PAK20262.E of 4 April 1995 refers to Qurban Hussain as a JKPNP leader. Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

A 13 October 1995 India Abroad article states that Kashmiri groups have divided into a pro-Pakistan camp known as the All Party Kashmir Co-ordination Council, and the more independence-oriented camp known as the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Council, which includes the Jammu and Kashmir National Liberation Front, the Kashmir Liberation Movement, the JKPNP and a few other local groups.

In June 1996, the JKPNP participated in protests against the 30 June 1996 elections in Azad Kashmir (India Abroad 14 June 1996).

Additional information on the JKPNP could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB 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.

References

India Abroad [Toronto]. 14 February 1997. Vol. 13, No. 20. Sanjay Suri. "Kashmiris Slam Irony of Exclusion from Vote."

_____. 14 June 1996. Tariq Dutt. "Parties Gear up for Election in Pakistan Held Kashmir." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)

_____.13 October 1995. Sanjay Suri. "JKLF Split is a Setback to U.K. Pakistanis." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)

_____. 1 July 1994. Aabha Dixit. "Kashmiris Now See Pakistan's Ploy." (The Ethnic NewsWatch/NEXIS)

Attachment

India Abroad [Toronto]. 14 February 1997. Vol. 13, No. 20. Sanjay Suri. "Kashmiris Slam Irony of Exclusion from Vote," p. 20.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Report. Yearly. 1994, 1995, 1996.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996. (Internet)

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1994, 1995.

Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. 1994, 1995.

DIRB. Indexed Media Review [Ottawa]. Weekly. January 1993-present.
_____. November 1996.

Human Rights Information Package: Pakistan.

_____. April 1996.

Contextual Information Package: Pakistan.

_____. June 1995: Pakistan: Chronology of Events, January 1994-February 1995.
_____. April 1994.

Pakistan Country Review.

Encyclopedia of the Third World. 1992.

Europa World Year Book 1996. 1996.

Extremist Groups: An International Compilation of Terrorist Organizations, Violent Political Groups and Issue-Oriented Militant Movements. 1996.

The Far East and Australasia. 1993, 1996.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). State of Human Rights in Pakistan. Yearly. 1991, 1992, 1993.

Human Rights in Developing Countries Yearbook. Yearly. 1994, 1995, 1996.

Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996.
INS Resource Information Centre, Washington, DC. November 1993.

Profile Series: Pakistan.

International Who's Who. Bi-yearly. 1994, 1996.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Monthly. January 1993-December 1996.

News from Asia Watch [New York]. Monthly. 1993.
Office féderal des réfugiés [Berne]. November 1995.

Feuille d'information sur les pays: Pakistan: État en novembre 1995.

_____. November 1990.

Pakistan: Bulletin d'information.

Office of Asylum Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. June 1996.

Pakistan: Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions.

_____. March 1995.

Pakistan: Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions.

_____. December 1994.

Pakistan: Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions.

_____. June 1994.

Pakistan: Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions.

Political Handbook of the World. Yearly. 1995, 1996.

Political Parties of Asia and the Pacific. 1985.
Refugees, Immigration and Asylum Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia. October 1993.

Refugee Determination: Country Profile: Pakistan.

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991.

On-line search of media sources.