Document #1323335
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Information on the Jammu Kashmir National
Awami Party (JKNAP) is limited among the sources consulted by the
Research Directorate.
No information on the JKNAP founder,
location of JKNAP branches, its membership and the treatment of its
members could be found among the sources consulted by the Research
Directorate.
The JKNAP is a pro-independence
organization (JKLF 23 Oct. 1997), which demands "reunification and
complete independence of the entire Jammu Kashmir State" (ibid. 14
Oct. 1997). The JKNAP, the Kashmir National Democratic Party, the
Jammu Kashmir National Liberation Front (JKNLF) and the Jammu
Kashmir National Student Federation (JKNSF) are members of the
umbrella organization called the Kashmir National Alliance (AI 28
June 1996).
In October 1997 advocate Sardar Anwar Khan
was JKNAP president (JKLF 14 Oct. 1997). In February 1999 Sardar
Muhammad Anwar Khan was identified as the JKNAP president
(Dawn 15 Feb. 1999).
On 15 February 1999 the Karachi-based
English-language daily Dawn reported that Sardar Muhammad
Anwar Khan had stated that the JKNAP was "established some two
years ago and the process of membership had been completed in Azad
Kashmir and UAE [United Arab Emirates]. [He added that] they had a
party branch in Canada and they had held party conventions in UK
and UAE."
In September 1999 Hassan Mahmood was
identified as a senior JKNAP leader (Business Recorder 7
Sept. 1999).
Additional and/or corroborating information
on the JKNAP could not be found among the sources consulted by the
Research Directorate.
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.
References
Amnesty International (AI). 28 June
1996. Pakistan: Arbitrary Arrest of Political Activists Before
Elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. http://www.amnesty-usa.org
[Accessed 6 Dec. 1999]
Business Recorder [Karachi]. 7
September 1999. "International Tribunal Demanded for Probing Indian
'War Crimes' in Kashmir." http://www.businessrecorder.com
[Accessed 6 Dec. 1999]
Dawn [Karachi]. 15 February
1999. "JKNAP Welcomes Bus Service." http://www.dawn.com [Accessed 6 Dec.
1999]
JKLF. 23 October 1997. "Pakistan: Azad
Kashmir Govt. Ceased Public Transport to Keep Nationalists to
Observe Independent Kashmir day." [JKLF E-mail/ MSANEWS]
http://msanews.mynet.net/
MSANEWS [Accessed 6 Dec. 1999]
_____. 14 October 1997. "Independent
Kashmir Day to Be Observed Jointly by JKLF, JKNAP, JKNLF, KFM." http://shell.comsats.net.pk/~jklf
[Accessed 6 Dec. 1999]
Additional Sources Consulted
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1998. 1999.
The Europa World Year Book
1999. 1999.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). February 1998.
State of Human Rights in 1997.
Immigration and Naturalization Department, Home Office, UK. March 1999.Pakistan: Country Assessment.
Pakistan: A Country Study. 1984.
Political Handbook of the World
1998. 1998.
Political Parties of Asia and the
Pacific. 1985.
Research Directorate. August 1999.
Human Rights Information Package: Pakistan.
Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of
the World: An International Guide. 1991.
UNHCR. May 1998.
Background Paper on Refugees and Asylum Seekers from Pakistan.
Electronic sources: various Internet
sites, IRB Databases.