LUDHIANA: The International Human Rights Organization (THRO) has appointed three prominent nonparty persons as. Observers to monitor the May 19 Jalandhar Lok Sabha by-election. They will pay close attention to the election process and submit their final report by May 25.
This was decided at the 31member IHRO Governing Council’s annual meeting held here May 9. The observers include Gurdish Singh Grewal (Punjab Sikh Lawyers Council Presidium Member), Ajmer Singh Lakhowal (President, BKU, Punjab) and Dr.Balwant Singh, an agricultural scientist, according to an THRO statement issued to the Press here Monday.
The governing council has also formed a “Coordination Committee for Human Rights on Kashmir’ with Justice Mufti Bahauddin Farooqi as its chairman while Dr.Rajinderpal Singh will be its convener. The retired chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir high court, Farooqi already heads J&K People’s Basic Rights Committee.
According to the IHRO statement, the governing council, I besides passing its other annual items, took D.S.Gill Chairman, Mohinder Singh Grewal general Secretary and Gurbhajan Singh Gill Administration Secretary of the organization for another term. Advocate Kashmir Singh Ghuman, Journalist D.S.Chhina.and Jaswant Singh have been taken in the 11member Core Group of the IHRO.
The nonparty human rights group, according to its general secretary Grewal, has already asked its chapters abroad to urge their governments to use their good offices to ensure a free and fair by-election in Punjab as most of the candidates had expressed their fear of large scale rigging, intimidation of operation voters and of state machinery by the Congress (I) ruling party candidate.
The IHRO Council, in a resolution, appreciated the stand taken on Kashmir by the Clinton administration that India and Pakistan should find out a political solution acceptable to the people of Kashmir, and urged the US and other World governments to help find political solutions in the case of Punjab and Assam, for the peoples can not be kept together for long by the use of state force.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 21, 1993
