Pakistan High Commission in London observes Kashmir Solidarity Day

London: The High Commission for Pakistan, London hosted a Parliamentary Webinar on 05 February 2021 to mark Kashmir Solidarity Day.

It was participated by a large number of cross-party British MPs from both Houses of the Parliament, eminent scholars, academics, members of the civil society and British friends of Kashmir. High Commissioner Moazzam Ahmad Khan conducted the webinar.

Giving an overview of the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK), President AJ&K Sardar Masood Khan said that Indian Occupied Kashmir had become a hotspot of Islamophobia, and Kashmiris were facing annihilation and genocide. Rape and targeted molestation of women by occupation forces was being used as a tool to intimidate the population.

The BJP government was bringing millions of Hindus to the occupied territory to change its demography in contravention of the international law and Geneva Convention. He urged the British government to activate the UN to resolve the conflict, which was eroding peace and security of the region.

In his opening remarks, the High Commissioner apprised the audience of the unabated atrocities being committed by the Indian security forces in IIOJK. He said that nearly a million armed occupation forces were violating the fundamental rights of innocent and unarmed Kashmiris at a scale unparalleled in modern times. Indian atrocities betray the genocidal intent, reminiscent of the worst excesses of fascism in the Second World War.

He called upon the UK government to play its due role in bringing the humanitarian crisis and the political dispute to a peaceful and just conclusion, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan on its part will continue to raise its voice for the Kashmiris at every platform and every occasion, the High Commissioner concluded.

Expressing complete solidarity with the Kashmiri people, the British Parliamentarians and other speakers strongly condemned the gross human rights violations of the Kashmiri people being committed by Indian occupation forces. They demanded that India should immediately repeal draconian laws, end the military siege, stop demographic changes in the occupied region, lift communication blockade and release all political prisoners in IIOJK. They also said that it was about time that the international community called out the BJP government’s discriminatory laws against Muslims.

Terming it an international issue, the speakers unanimously refuted Indian narrative of Kashmir being an internal matter and pledged to continue to raise their voice for the basic human rights of the Kashmiris. They also urged India to allow access to humanitarian organizations on its side of Jammu and Kashmir, as was done by Pakistan.

The speakers included Debbie Abrahams MP, Chair All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, Andrew Gwynne MP, Chair Labour Friends of Kashmir, Paul Bristow MP, Co-Chair Conservative Friends of Kashmir, Afzal Khan MP, Alison Thewliss MP, Imran Hussain MP, James Daly MP, Khalid Mehmood MP, Liam Byrne MP, Naz Shah MP, Robbie Moore MP, Steve Baker MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Lord Qurban Hussain, Lord Wajid Khan, Muhammad Yasin MP, Shaffaq Mohammad ex-MEP, John Howarth ex-MEP, Amjad Bashir ex-MEP, Cllr Yasmin Dar, Raja Najabat Hussain, Dr Nazir Gilani, Counsellor Liaquat Ali MBE, Mushtaq Lashari CBE, and Cllr Muhammad Sadiq. Besides, Tony Lloyd MP and Rebecca Long Bailey MP sent their messages of solidarity.

At the end, the High Commissioner thanked the speakers and participants of the webinar for their expression of solidarity with the Kashmiris. He hoped that the Webinar would help raise awareness about the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in IIOJK.