Stop genocide, human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir: UK MPs urge India

Lawmakers express concerns at a seminar organised by Third World Solidarity at the British Parliament

LONDON: British Members of Parliament (MPs) and other speakers at a seminar urged the Modi government to stop genocide and gross human rights violations on the defenceless people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and give them their inalienable right to self-determination.

Focusing on 'Kashmir Human Rights’, the seminar that was organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Third World Solidarity at the British parliament, witnessed an overwhelming support with the besieged people of Kashmir.

The speakers — including Dave Anderson Chairman, Lit Twist MP, Victoria Schofield, Lord Qurban Hussain of Luton, Kumar Sarkar (Indian), Ahlam Akram, Habib Jan, Anis Nasir and Mushtaq Lasharie— asked New Delhi to end the illicit lockdown of Kashmiris, who had been demanding their right to self-determination, which was promised to them by the United Nations about seven decades ago.

Lord Qurban, who hails from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), said that the Modi-led government has given a licence to its occupation forces to arrest and kill the people of IOK under its Armed Forces Special Act.

“The honour of women in Occupied Kashmir is not safe as thousands of them had been raped by the occupation troops,” Qurban said, adding that even young boys of below 12 years of age were picked up from their houses and next day their dead bodies were thrown out.

Referring to 30,000 Kashmiri people and Freedom movement leader Shabbir Shah who had been in prison for the past 25 years, Qurban said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government — which is pursuing the fascist and extremist ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — has made the lives of Muslims and other minorities across India and Occupied Kashmir miserable.

NUST seminar stresses Kashmir’s right to self-determination

“India's move to abrogate Articles 35A and 370 of the constitution was illegal as it was aimed at changing the demographic composition of IOK while making the indigenous Muslim population a minority in their homeland.

Demanding the international community to pressurise New Delhi for allowing human rights organisations to visit the disputed territory for ascertaining on the ground rights abuses, Qurban also said that there are no restrictions for such organisations to visit  Azad Kashmir.

Third World Solidarity Chairman Mushtaq Lasharie also called for the implementation of the UN resolutions on Kashmir.

While questioning that if the UN Security Council resolutions are implemented on Iraq then why not the same could be done in case of Kashmir, Lasharie also asked the participants to write letters to the UK government for pushing the Indian government to stop atrocities on 8 million Kashmiris.

“Due to the complete lockdown, the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir are facing a shortage of food and medicines while students are unable to attend their educational institutions,” Victoria Schofield said.

Kumar Sarkar — who is an Indian Hindu, Saundra Satterlee journalist from the United States — strongly criticised the BJP government policies based on the fascist Hindu ideology of caste system, which was total negation of liberal policies of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Attendees — belonging to communities across UK— included Angela Rayner MP, Tony Llord MP, Ian Murray MP, Sam Terry MP, Tan Deshi MP, Kevin Hollinrake MP, Bob Blackman MP, Barry Gardiner MP, David Amess MP, Ahlam Akram Palestanian, Councillor (Cllr) Rita Begum, Murad Qureshi, member of GLA from Bangladesh, Prof Victoria Goddard Argentinian, Julie Fox French, Dr Kathey Saugy Argentanian academemics, Ruaidri O Donnel Adviser to Tony Lloyd MP on Ireland, Christopher MCHugh and many other British Pakistanis and Kashmiris, and human rights activists.