The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) UK-
In the Parliamentary debate on 19th January, lead by the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, Mr.David Nuttall MP, the efforts of the JKLF and other Kashmiri groups in the UK were recognised and members of parliament paid tribute to British Kashmiris for their commitment and lobbying effort for a peaceful resolution of the Jammu Kashmir issue..
The motion, which was passed unanimously in the parliament chamber stated: "The House notes the escalation in violence and breaches of international human rights on the Indian side of the Ceasefire Line in Jammu Kashmir; calls on the UK 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”.
The debate on this motion where 29 MPs, ministers and shadow ministers from Labour, Tory and SNP took part, was a culmination of a strenuous mass lobbying campaign carried out by the JKLF and other Kashmiri organisations in 2016 following the uprising in the Kashmir valley where over a hundred civilian protestors were killed and thousands injured and blinded by the use of pellet guns.
British members of parliament paid tribute to those killed and those who have carried on with the campaign for their political rights for over 7 decades and deplored the international apathy and indifference displayed by the UK foreign office.
Debating on the motion, MPs stressed that the people of Jammu Kashmir must be given the same right to take control of their future as the one exercised by the UK in the EU referendum. MPs David Nuttall and Philip Davies said Kashmiris should be afforded the same right to self-determination as was given to the British people in the form of the Brexit vote. Intervening, Mr Davies said: “Surely it is not a question of supporting either the Indian government or the Pakistan government, it’s about supporting the people of Kashmir."
JKLF have been campaigning for the unfettered right to self-determination and independence to be recognised through public protests, parliamentary meetings and international lobbying. The mass lobby campaign in UK and Europe was launched earlier last year at a press conference held at JKLF’s International Secretariat in London and the head of their International Political and Diplomatic Campaigns, Azmat Khan, given a mandated to seek collaboration with other Kashmiri groups and double up joint efforts. Kashmiri leaders met with the UK foreign office official before UK Prime Minister’s visit to India and also asked the Labour Party’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry MP, to take up this issue with the Prime Minister, Teresa May, which was done by a letter to the foreign secretary Boris Johnson next day.
Earlier in the year, a JKLF delegation comprising of Chief Organiser Abrar Nisar, spokesman Shakeel Mirza, and Shafiq Qadri met with the Chairman all parties parliamentary group on Kashmir, Mr.David Nuttall MP in Bury, and briefed him of the dire situation on Kashmir and the wife of the JKLF chairman Yasin Malik spoke with Mr Nuttall regarding his deteriorating health and illegal detention in occupied Kashmir.
Senior JKLF leaders, including General Secretary Tahsin Gillani, UK Spokesman Shakeel Mirza, Shams Rehman and others attended the annual Scottish National Party d(SNP) conference, where they met with former party leader, Alex Salmond, who promised to support such a motion in British parliament.
In the recent months JKLF UK branches and office bearers were instructed by the President Sabir Gul to meet with their local members of Parliament and to apprise them of the need for a change in UK foreign policy on the issue of Kashmir. The UK zonal leadership have continuously engaged with other political parties and have pledged to double up their efforts to show a unified voice to the world on Kashmir. They have written to the members of parliament for their efforts and expressed gratitude in recognising the Kashmiri voice and pleas for unfettered right of self determination.
The evidence of JKLF UK Zone's diplomatic efforts could be seen and heard today in British parliament ,where British parliamentarians acknowledged that people of Jammu Kashmir seek a peaceful resolution of the issue and want their country to become a bridge of peace rather than a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Kashmiris firmly believe that a peaceful and equitable solution of the Kashmir issue is the key to a peaceful and prosperous South Asiain sub continent - a sentiment that was reiterated by JKLF patron in chief Late Amaan Ullah Khan on numerous occasions.
Ends.
JKLF UK Zone Department of Publicity and information.
Text of the full debate is available below
https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2017-01-19/debates/5E3E7217-2415-4B94-8748-3D9E6B1E759B/Kashmir
For futher information contact press office: .
www.jklf.co.uk
president @jklf.co.uk
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