Labour Party asked to review its foreign policy on Kashmir


London 31 October, 2016: A Kashmiri delegation lead by JKLF-UK president, Sabir Gul, met with the Labour Party’s newly appointed Shadow Foreign  Minister, Emily Thornberry, in her London office, and  discussed with her the possibility of reviewing the party  policy on Kashmir and its support for the independence  movement and to call for the international intervention to  curb the growing human rights violations taking place on daily basis in the Indian occupied territory.  Besides  JKLF president, the Kashmiri delegation consisted of the  president of the J&K Liberation League, Councillor  Misfar Hussan, President of J&K Freedom Movement,  Councillor Ghulam Hussain, head of the British Kashmiri
Women Association, Rana Shama Nazir, and Head of JKLF’s  International Political and Diplomatic Campaigns, Prof Azmat
A. Khan.

This followed the JKLF meeting with the UK’s Foreign and  Commonwealth (FCO) head last week, where UK government  silence over the recent uprising was questioned. Expressing  dissatisfaction with the current UK government attitude  towards the gross human rights violations in Kashmir,  JKLF’s Azmat Khan explained that there was a need for the  UK Labour Party to review its foreign policy as  millions of Kashmiri and Pakistani voters in the country  looked towards Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership  to rebalance the gap between apathy and pro-active conflict  resolution approach which was very much needed.  Other  members of the delegation explained how they were looking forward to a future Labour government which would be able to  undo some of the injustices around the world including  Kashmir, where 20 million people have waited for 70 years to  undo the mess left behind by the British colonial raj. They  expressed concerns that UK ministers were more interested in  bilateral trade with India at the cost of human rights  issues and Prime Minister, Teresa May’s visit to India on  6th November would be used by India as an endorsement of its  brutal repression in Kashmir, which is largely hidden from  international spot light because of Syrian conflict. The JKLF leaders underlined the consequential fallout in Kashmir  if the international community did not take timely measures to help resolve the Kashmir conflict.

The shadow  foreign secretary raised a number of questions regarding the  Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan,  Ladakh and Siachin  territories and asked about the political and legal status  of the two assemblies on both sides of the divided Kashmir.


The Kashmiri delegation explained how secret service  agencies undertook a vetting process before candidates were  allowed to stand for local elections and then compelled to  take oath of allegiance towards a country named as an  occupier by the UN, which was the reason why  pro-independence movement leaders were against participating  in such electoral processes.

They pointed to historical  electoral fraud and the bitter claims and counter claims  between India and Pakistan which left little choice for the  pro-independence Kashmiri leadership exercise their right to  freedom of speech and freedom of movement.

 It was decided that a follow up meeting would be organised  to look at Kashmiri demands and to address the concerns of  the Kashmiri Diaspora in the UK at a future date.



For further details please contact

Shakeel Mirza Spokesman JKLF UK Chapter.

Shakeel_jaral2006@yahoo.co.uk

London 24 October, 2016:   Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front UK chapter organised a Mass Lobby of the British Parliament along with Several other pro freedom leaders including Dr.Misfer Hussan,Najib Afser,Ghulam Hussain,Rana Shama Nazir,Irshad Malik,veteran leader Jabbar Butt,Zubair Ansari and inaam ul Haq.More than 40 members British Parliament participated in the meeting ,few of them are listed below.

Julie Cooper .    Burnley

Kelvin Hopkins. Luton

Liam Byrne.      Birmingham

Yasmin Qureshi. Bolton

Khalid Mahmood .Birmingham

Stephen Timms. East Ham

Eilidh Whiteford .Banff and Buchan.

Paul Blomfield. Sheffield

David Nuttall. Bury

Philip Davis. Shipley

 David Winnck. Bloxwich, Walsall

Ruth Smeeth. Stoke on Tent

Gavin Shuker. Luton

Roger Godsiff. Birmingham

Fabian Hamilton. Leeds

Robert Flello .Stoke on Trent

Tasmina Sheikh.  Ochil and South Perthshire

Lord Hussain. House of Lords ( Former Leader of JKLF)

 Thangam Debbonaire.Bristol West.

Richard Fuller. Bedford

Judith gumming. Bradford

Honourable British Member Parliament Julie Cooper chaired the meeting along with JKLF,s international, diplomatic and political campaigns head Professor Azmat A Khan,Dr.Misfer Hussan and JKLF UK Zone president Sabir Gul.



JKLF senior leaders including general secretary Syed Tehseen Gillani,cheif organiser Abar Nisar,spokesman JKLF UK Shakeel Mirza,senior Vice President Mushtaq Malik,Senior leader Aslam  Mirza ,Aqeel Butt,Muhammad Saghir,Muhammad Sodagar,Professor Liaqat,Malik Latif,Nazam Bhati,general secretary Luton Liaqat Ali Lone and many more JKLF members were present in the meeting.




JKLF leaders said that UK government has a longstanding but ineffective docile policy of no mediation on Kashmir. For a permanent UN SC member state, which has historical, political and moral obligation on Kashmir, to say “Its between India and Pakistan to resolve” is equivalent to saying the two nuclear armed neighbours can carry on with what they are doing in Kashmir. The ethical foreign policy ministers used to say we stand ready to help but that is no more the case. Hence the bloodshed and carnage continues in occupied Kashmir.




 JKLF leaders said that, if promoting respect for human rights and political rights for all people and all nations in the world is a core purpose of the UN, the people of divided and occupied Jammu Kashmir have been waiting over 7 decades for it to take effect in Kashmir. UK and USA are responsible for the systemic failure of the Security Council in meeting their responsibilities and promises on resolving the Kashmir issue peacefully in accordance with the will of the people.  We suspect the new UN Human Rights UpFront initiative will not reach Jammu Kashmir to ensure early and effective action. The uprising over the past 3 months is not likely to die down.



JKLF pleaded the British MPs for their help and assistance to raise the issue of Kashmir’ as an issue of unfettered right of self-determination for 20 million population of Jammu Kashmir rather than a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan.

JKLF asked the MPs to raise questions about Kashmir before Prime Minister, Teresa May, goes to India from 6th November that
While in India, will the PM talk to her counterpart about releasing Kashmiri political prisoners, including women & children as well as the ailing leader of the pro-independence Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Yasin Malik, whose moderate and secular organisation represents Kashmiris on both sides of the divide as well as the Diaspora, and who seeks peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through international mediation.





JKLF leadership urged British parliamentarians to ask Indian or Pakistani MPs or Ministers, what measures they are seeking to take to make life easier for the Kashmiri population under their respective control, including freedom of speech, freedom of movement and the right to live life with honour and dignity until the Kashmir Issue is resolved.





JKLF raised concerns about the health,safety and well being of JKLF cheif Yasin Malik in front of British MPs and told them that JKLF have strong reservation about the medical treatment of Mr.Yasin Malik provided by Indian government .JKLF urged that Mr. Yasin Malik should be released immediately from the custody.



British parliamentarians assured that they will raise the questions about human rights violations on both sides of LOC and will continue their support for the movement of independence of Jammu Kashmir in the house and on other relevant forums.They said that they understand Jammu Kashmir is not a boarder dispute between Indian and Pakistan but an issue of 20 millions people's political future.


People of Jammu Kashmir should be given an unfettered right of self determination so that they could decide their political future .
British Parliamentarians assured that they will raise all questions and would play more active role inside parliament and outside for the resolution of Jammu Kashmir issue according to the aspirations of the people of Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

London 23 Oct,2016: A high level Kashmiri delegation met with the head of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Nicola Mockeridge, in London to bring to UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson’s attention to the case of illegal imprisonment of Kashmiri leaders in Indian Occupied Kashmir and the deteriorating health condition of the incarcerated, JKLF chairman, Yasin Malik, whose kidney and heart condition has worsened during his imprisonment since 8th July, in Srinagar, due to ill treatment in prison and medical negligence. The delegation, lead by JKLF’s former UK president Azmat A Khan, who is currently heading organistion’s Political & Diplomatic Campaigns, Secretary General of the London based human rights organisation, JKCHR, Dr Nazir Gelani and the London representative of the Kashmiri Democratic Freedom Party, Ershad Malik.

The Kashmiri delegation urged the UK government through FCO to intervene on humanitarian basis to save Kashmiri leader’s life and urge India to release all political prisoners including young and elderly leaders, women and children who have been arrest in their thousands during the past 3 months. The Kashmiri delegation also urged FCO to take effective measures through the UN mechanism to bring to halt gross human rights violation against the civilian population who are exercising their right to protest against India’s draconian laws in Kashmiri and denying the Kashmiri people their right to self-determination with brutal force.

They expressed concerns with the UK government’s docile policy of none intervention in Kashmir as ineffective and inadequate and said that as a member of the UN Security Council Britain had a political and historical responsibility to play its role in bringing about lasting peace in Jammu-Kashmir where over a hundred of innocent protestors have been killed nearly 300 youth blinded by lethal weapons such pellet guns. The Kashmiri delegation also pointed to regional security implications and the dangers of growing anti-western sentiments in Jammu-Kashmir and in South Asia because of the complete silence over Kashmir uprising in the recent months by international community and the media.

The JKLF underlined the consequential fallout within both side of Kashmir as well as in the Diaspora community in UK, which is deeply worried about the ongoing unrest and the repression in Jammu-Kashmir, including the arbitrary arrests of many of the  JKLF leaders and  Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Syed Ali Gelani and human rights lawyer Khuram Pervez.

During the hour and half long meeting, several questions were raised by the Head of FCO and the Kashmiri delegation made it clear that the current standoff between India and Pakistan and the lack of progress in bilateral negotiations between Indian and Pakistan has lead to deep resentment and discontent and the so called ‘confidence building measures’, have failed to build on any hope for an early resolution of the Kashmir Issue. A number of proposals were put forward by the Kashmiri delegation for consideration regarding the extra-judicial killings, false imprisonment of minors and abduction cases involving security forces and the local state government activities which are in conflict with the international law.

JKLF -UK chapter is lobbying the UK parliament on Monday, 24th October, to bring to their attention the case of Kashmiri prisoners and the ongoing repression, which has gone into 106 days today.

Spokesman JKLF UK Zone.
Shakeel Mirza.

Srinagar 19 SEP: Spokesman || JKLF on Monday said that the outfit chairman Yasin Malik was shifted to Humhama Joint

Interrogation Center (JIC) for “unknown reasons.” A spokesperson said that Malik remained detained at Humhama police station, but today police shifted him to another place without giving any reasons to anyone.

Malik was arrested on July 8, soon after Hizb commander Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir.