BURNLEY, SRINAGAR, (PTK):  Burnley England MP Julie Cooper has urged the government to take a leading role in brokering a peace deal between India and Pakistan following new tensions over Kashmir.

She raised the issue during Foreign Office Questions in the House of Commons following a suicide bombing in the Indian-controlled part of the disputed territory and the shooting down of an Indian jet and capture of the pilot over the Pakistan-administered section.

This led to further fighting and thousands of troop being stationed on either side of the border between the two parts of Kashmir.

Mrs Cooper told Asia minister Mark Field: “Your focus on the human rights of the people of Kashmir is genuinely welcome, but the fact remains that the humanitarian crisis has been raging in Kashmir for decades, largely ignored by this country and the rest of the world.

“Does you agree that it is a terrible shame that it takes an escalation of violence between two nuclear powers to achieve what, hopefully, will be a wake-up call for the British Government?”

Mr Field replied: “I am sorry you think this is a wake-up call.

“This is something that is close to all our hearts, not least because there are significant numbers of diaspora and their many MPs raise these issues.

“What is particularly serious here is that we are now dealing with two nuclear powers.

“A huge amount of work has not been going ​on behind the scenes for many years.

“Obviously, it becomes a lot more high-profile with all that is happening now.”