Feature: India, Pakistan's Kashmir conflict overshadows Commonwealth

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) has become a new battle ground for India and Pakistan to fight over Kashmir.

Relations between the two nuclear neighbors have hit a new roadblock ahead of the association's conference scheduled to be held in Islamabad next month.

With Pakistan playing host for this year's Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), it has refused to send invitations to representatives from Indian-controlled Kashmir, citing the move as compromising Islamabad's position on the Kashmir issue.

"We can't invite a speaker from Indian-controlled Kashmir, as the assembly does not enjoy a legitimate status because it represents a disputed territory,which needs to be settled in light of the UN resolutions," Sartaj Aziz,an adviser on national security and foreign affairs to Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was quoted as saying on Sunday.

India, meanwhile, has threatened to boycott the upcoming conference if Pakistan remains adamant on its refusal to extend an invitation to the speaker of Indian-controlled Kashmir's lawmaking body.

The decision was made during a meeting chaired by the speaker of the lower house of Indian parliament, Sumitra Mahajan, in New Delhi on Friday.

Pakistan, however, has invited Mahajan and speakers of other Indian states to the conference but excluded Indian-controlled Kashmir. "The meeting resolved to call upon Dr. Shirin Chaudhury, speaker of Bangladesh's parliament and chairperson of the CPA executive committee to use her good offices to immediately resolve the matter and ensure the issuance of an invitation to the Jammu and Kashmir, the failure of which will result in the CPA India boycotting the 61st CPC in Islamabad," a senior official of Indian parliament said.

The 10-day conference is scheduled to begin on Sept. 30 and would end on Oct. 8 this year.

This will be the first-ever conference of the CPA to be hosted by Pakistan,according to the information displayed on the conference website.

Previously, three countries in the region -- Bangladesh in 2003, India in 2007 and Sri Lanka in 2012, have all hosted the CPC.

Fifty-three Commonwealth countries including India and Pakistan constitute the London-based CPA which holds its meetings annually.

The member base of the CPA consists of heads of parliaments of member countries and constitutional heads of their respective state legislatures.

The CPA links members of national, state, provincial and territorial parliaments and legislatures across the Commonwealth. Its mission is to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.

Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad usually remain strained over a host of issues especially Kashmir. Despite repeated efforts to normalize ties,the arch-rivals are yet to reach a consensus to minimize the gulf between them.

Last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart met in Ufa, Russia, with a vow to renew their commitment to take talks forward.

However, a thaw in relations and progress with talks remains to be seen.

The troops of India and Pakistan on Friday have been constantly targeting each other's positions using shells and mortars along the 720 km Line of Control(LoC) and 198 km International Border in Kashmir, despite an agreement in 2003 to observe a ceasefire.

Both sides accuse each other of resorting to unprovoked attacks and violating ceasefire agreements. And both sides maintain that their troops responded appropriately to attacks from the other side.

Last year, New Delhi called off foreign secretary-level talks with Islamabad citing reservations over Pakistan's engagement with Kashmiri separatists ahead of the talks. The separatists demand an end to New Delhi's rule in the restive region. Endi