JKLF presented a letter of protest to the Indian high commissioner in London

The members of JKLF UK Zone picketed outside the Indian High Commission in London and presented a letter of protest to the Indian high commissioner against the desecration of holy Quran and Killings of innocent protesters in Gool, Ramban area of Jammu Kashmir.

Below is the text of the letter of protest which was presented to the high Commissioner. 

His Excellency, Dr J Bhagwati Indian High Commissioner in the UK India House Aldwych London WC2B 4NA United Kingdom Dated: 22 July 2013  Dear Dr Bhagwati Re: The abominable outrage of the desecration of the Holy Quran and the Gool massacre of peaceful protesters on 18 July 2013. Your Excellency if entering in to a mosque and desecration of the Holy Quran, beating up of people at prayers in the Holy month of Ramadan was not enough, the Border Security force-BSF -a paramilitary force deployed in huge numbers by the Indian Government in Kashmir - killed six innocent Kashmiris who had come out to protest peacefully against this abominable outrage perpetrated by the BSF in the Gool area of Ramban district in Jammu on Thursday 18 July 2013. This protest note lodged through your Excellency by the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front-JKLF- today is to express and put on record our strong condemnation and utter disgust of the cowardly and callous actions of the BSF in Gool, and to convey deep hurt and anguish of Kashmiris in Britain, over the desecration of the Holy Quran and the killing of six innocent civilians. Your Excellency such outrages committed by Indian forces have become a norm in Kashmir. With the ‘legal cover’ that your government has provided them through various draconian laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act-AFSPA- the men in uniform deployed across the Jammu Kashmir, have a licence to commit extra judicial killings, wanton destruction of property, rape, fake encounters and abductions with impunity. Gool massacre is the latest chapter-and alas will not be the last- in the ongoing state oppression and violence unleashed against Kashmiris by over 700,000 Indian military and paramilitary forces particularly since 1988 that has resulted in deaths of tens of thousands of men, women, children, young and old alike as well as disappearance of hundreds of Kashmiri youth. Indeed since the unpardonable action of the BSF in Gool on 18 July, further deaths and injuries are reported across various towns and hamlets of Jammu Kashmir with imposition of curfew, curtailing of internet and phone services. Kashmiri leadership is prevented to meet and console the aggrieved in their hour of sorrow. MrYasin Malik Chairman of the JKLF and other prominent leaders like Syed Ali Gilani and Shabir Shah has been put under arrest.    Your Excellency Kashmir is a political issue whose future status is yet to be decided upon with reference to the unfettered expression and will of 20 million Kashmiris across both sides of the Line of Control-LoC- that arbitrarily divides Jammu Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The movement for self determination and reunification is peaceful and for the inherent and inalienable right of each and every Kashmiri to decide on the future status of the erstwhile kingdom of Jammu Kashmir. And yet India continues to resort to a high handed, violent and oppressive occupation of the territory. Such intransigence, intolerance and ambivalence ill behoves a democracy of India’s stature to stifle democratic expression and to forcibly hold Kashmir and its people subjugated. Inevitably the way forward for a peaceful solution on the future status of Jammu Kashmir is through dialogue. Your Excellency India must therefore desist from unleashing further militarised terror and brutality against the population and withdraw its military and paramilitary forces to the barracks to prevent further incidents like the Gool outrage. And more importantly engage with Kashmiri leadership for an early negotiated settlement on the future political status of Jammu Kashmir. In the meantime your Excellency, it remains to be seen as a test of the criminal justice system and democracy in India as to the actions it is prepared to take against BSF personnel responsible for the Gool massacre. On behalf of and for the JKLF Zafar Khan:                   Head of JKLF’s Diplomatic Bureau Azmat .A. Khan:           President of the JKLF in the UK Mahmud Hussain          Snr. V president of the JKLF in the UK Tehsin Gilani:               General Secretary of the JKLF in the UK Sabir Gul:                     Organiser of the JKLF in the UK Ali Asghar:                   Finance Secretary of the JKLF in the UK For contact: Email: info@JKLF.co.uk Tel: 07956 400 834 Website: www.JKLF.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/JKLFworld