UK Kashmiris pledge for united effort on Kashmir campaign
Over a dozen Kashmiri parties, associations and NGOs
based in the UK Oldham UK
At the end of the conference a 3 point joint declaration
was agreed upon to ensure that all Kashmiri organisation would continue to meet
together in the future to form a strategic alliance which would work towards
increasing international political and diplomatic pressure on India and
Pakistan to honour their pledges for self-determination and to resolve the
long-standing Kashmir issue peacefully.
The first point on the declaration reads that “we (the
organisations) recognise and affirm that the Kashmiri Diaspora in the UK
The conference opened with a presentation from JKLF
president, Mr Azmat A Khan, who invited delegates for a debate and
introspection of the current situation and dilemmas faced by the Kashmiri
movement and raised several questions on the role of Kashmiri parties in the UK
with suggestions for improvement areas in order to effect a meaningful
international campaign to support the independence movement from UK and Europe.
Apart from the host JKLF, the parties and organisation
represented at the conference included JK Peoples National Party chairman prof
Nazir Nazish, JK Liberation Conference president Mahmood, Kashmiri, AJK Muslim
Conference president Bashir Ratvi, Kashmir Freedom Movement president Ghulam
Hussain, Kashmir Self-determination Movement president Raja Najabat Hussain,
Kashmir Liberation Organisation president Najib Afsar, JK National Awami Party president Zahid Lone,
UK PNP president Usman Kiyani, Tehrik Kashmir president Mohammed Ghalib and
Kashmir United
Front chairman Afzal Tahir. Other organisational heads included the
secretary general of the prominent Kashmiri NGO with UN consultative status
known as JK Council for Human rights, Dr Nazir Gilani, head of the Kashmir
National Identity Campaign Dalat Ali, president of the British Kashmir
Foundation Shazad Iqbal and head of the Kashmiri Writers Forum Shafqat Raja.
Other Kashmiri writers, intellectuals
and thinkers who participated in the conference as observers included, Tahir
Bostan advocate, professor Nazir Tabasam, Shams Rehman, Dr Aftab Hussain, Zafar
Tanweer, Jabbar Butt, Prof Liaqat Ali Khan, Naib Hussain Mughal, Sardar Abdul
Rehman and Aslam Mirza, Abdul Khaliq, Haji Abdul Hameed and Ghulam Nabi Mir.
Former chairman of the Parliamentary Kashmir group and peer, Lord Nazir Ahmed
was also present at the conference.
The conference was chaired by prominent JKLF leader
Prof Zafar Khan of Luton .
JKLF UK Europe general
secretary Tehsind Gilani welcomed the delegates. Other JKLF leaders who spoke
at the conference included its national organiser Sabir Gul, Saghir Ahmed, Laiq
Ali, Jay Iqbal, Ishfaq Ahmed, Amant
Nazir and Shabir Kashmir. The conference arrangements were made by JKLF’s Oldham ,
Manchester Bradford branches.
In a statement issued after the conference, JKLF
president, Azmat A Khan said that he was encouraged by the support and
commitment shown by many Kashmir leaders and that he was looking forward to
work with many different organisation with different ideas to strengthen the
international campaign for Kashmiri independence. He said that all delegates
were very keen to look for new ways to move forward and to put together
resources and manpower in a more productive way to internationalise the issue
of Kashmir in the world
media and in the international forum instead of repeatedly highlighting the
issue within the Kashmiri community.
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