15 British Pakistanis, Kashmiris elected to parliament in UK election

Victory shows the hard work of our community, says TeK President Fahim Kiyani

BIRMINGHAM: As many as 15 Britons of Pakistani and Kashmiri origin have been elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the general elections held on Friday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson returned to power after his Conservative party scored the biggest election victory since 1987.

“Electing 15 British Pakistani and Kashmiri origin MPs to the UK parliament as their representatives shows how our community has worked hard to ensure the victory of their candidates,” Raja Fahim Kayani, the president of the UK chapter of Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK), said in a statement on Friday.

“It is a great moment for the Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora in the UK,” he added. “It is a matter of pride that nine lawmakers out of 15 belong to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).”

The Johnson-led Conservative party won more than 360 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons – the party’s largest majority since under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

The poll result is a dramatic blow to the UK premier’s main competitor, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour Party suffered heavy losses.

Details of the Kashmiri and Pakistani origin MPs are as follows:

1: Naz Shah, (Labour) Bradford West

2: Khalid Mehmood, (Labour) Birmingham

3: Yasmin Qureshi, (Labour) South Bolton

4: Afzal Khan, (Labour) Gortan Manchester

5: Tahir Ali, (Labour) Hall Green, Birmingham

6: Muhammad Yasin (Labour) Bedfordshire

7: Imran Hussain (Labour) Bradford East

8: Zara Sultan (Labour) Coventry South

9: Shabana Mehmood (Labour) Ladywood, Birmingham

10: Rosena Ali Khan (Labour) Tooting

11: Nusrat Ghani (Conservative) Wealden, East Sussex

12: Imran Ahmed Khan (Conservative) Wakefield

13: Sajid Javed (Conservative) Bromsgrove

14: Rehman Chishti (Conservative) Gillingham and Rainham

15: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative) Meriden