The Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party (JKNAP), including when it was formed and by whom, the names of its leaders, any branches inside and outside Azad Kashmir, its membership, and the treatment of its members by the authorities and/or police [PAK33343.E]

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.