Commonwealth

Lord Hussain Excerpts

Thursday 30th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hussain (LD)]

My lords, the Commonwealth is very important to people such as me who would not have been here without it. It was membership of the Commonwealth that opened the doors for the people of its member countries to work and settle in the United Kingdom, to rebuild the country after the Second World War. I commend the British people, who welcomed our families with open arms, and in the same breath I acknowledge the adult education service that helped people such as me to work and learn at the same time, to compete in the labour market with the provision of equal opportunity.

The United Kingdom, being the head of the Commonwealth, has a huge amount of respect and influence in the development of its member countries. Under the banner of the Commonwealth all member countries commit to the development of free and democratic societies and the promotion of peace and prosperity to improve the lives of all its peoples. In 2018 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, the theme was “Towards a Common Future”. Following the meeting, the leaders adopted a communiqué, which set out a series of political commitments and practical actions that had been agreed. These commitments included strengthening democratic institutions and building peace.

The Commonwealth has a combined population of 2.5 billion people, and approximately 1.5 billion of them live in two member countries: India and Pakistan. A quick glance at the economic condition of these two countries paints a very gloomy picture. According to the recent report of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, in India 97 million people are living in extreme poverty. According to its classification, “extreme poverty” means individuals who are without income, home, health, or food twice a day. Additionally, people who are bedridden, those who have no facilities to make and eat food, and those who have debts due to health ailments come under this category.

According to UNICEF, less than 50 per cent of the population of India has access to safely managed drinking water. In Pakistan, according to the World Bank, in 2018 46.5 million people—21.9% of the population—lived under the national poverty line. According to WaterAid Pakistan, 21.7 million people do not have clean water; that is one in 10 people. This is only the tip of the iceberg. If you look at other strands of poverty, including health, education, the environment and other areas in these two countries, the situation is alarming.

Yet India’s defence budget for 2022-23 has increased by 9.8% to $70.6 billion, while Pakistan has announced a defence budget of $7.5 billion, a 12% increase on last year. These massive disparities between the levels of poverty facing such a large number of the population of these two countries and their incredible defence spending shows the sense of insecurity and the fragile peace between these nuclear neighbours, who have been at war with each other at least three times, with continued sporadic border skirmishes. Any accident or mistake could trigger an all-out war, with devastating consequences not only for the region but for the world at large.

The main dispute between India and Pakistan is the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, a region that is divided between India and Pakistan and which is waiting for the implementation of the UN resolutions of 1948, 1949 and many subsequent ones to decide its future.

The development of these two countries is held hostage by the continued violence and warlike situation between the two countries over Kashmir. If this was resolved, it would bring an end to the continued suffering not only of the Kashmiri people but of the 1.5 billion people of India and Pakistan. The extravagant amount of money spent on defence could be better utilised for the benefit of the poor people of these countries.

Over the years, many rounds of bilateral talks between India and Pakistan have failed to resolve this issue, and it is unlikely that they will succeed without third-party mediation. Since Commonwealth member states are committed to the development of “free and democratic societies” and the

“promotion of peace and prosperity to improve the lives of all the people of the Commonwealth”,

I am mindful that the Commonwealth has a role to bring peace in the Indian subcontinent. Britain, as the head of the Commonwealth, is best placed to help in the mediation for a long-lasting peace that would benefit the 1.5 billion people of India and Pakistan and resolve one of the oldest disputes in the history of the United Nations.

With that background, I ask the Minister: what steps are Her Majesty’s Government prepared to take to bring India and Pakistan to a negotiating table and help to resolve the Kashmir issue in a way that is acceptable to India, Pakistan and the people of Jammu and Kashmir?