British House of Commons to debate Indian Occupied Kashmir siege on March 26

LONDON: President of Tehreek-e-Kashmir (TeK) Fahim Kayani United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday said that Labour Party MP Debbie Abrahams and Chairperson All Party Parlimentary Group on Kashmir secured the debate on the ongoing situation of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJK) in the house of commons on March 26, 2020.

Abrahams was denied entry to India last month. Kayani urged British community to invite their MPs to attend the debate and "become the voice of voiceless people of IoJK".

President TeK further said that this will be the fourth debate on Kashmir in the House of Commons in the last 20 years.

The first debate on Kashmir was secured by Conservative Party MP Steve Baker on September 15, 2011, to ‘give a voice to the thousands of British Kashmiri constituents who are entitled to representation in their parliament'. MPs discussed human rights issues and the atrocities carried out in IoJK during the three-hour debate, watched by a packed public gallery.

Kayani added that the second debate took place on September 11, 2014, that was opened by David Ward, Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Tobias Ellwood, responded to the debate for the government.

The third debate was convened by Conservative Party MP David Nuttal and Chairman All Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir on January 19, 2017.

The motion debated and approved during the debate in the House of Commons was, "This House notes the escalation in violence and breaches of international human rights on the IoJK. It calls on the government to raise the matter at the United Nations, and further calls on the government to encourage Pakistan and India to commence peace negotiations to establish a long term solution on the future governance of Kashmir based on the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their own future in accordance with the provisions of UN Security Council resolutions."