UK Parliamentarians Call for Action on Human Rights in Kashmir

British lawmakers gathered at a conference organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) within the confines of the British Parliament to voice their profound concerns regarding the widespread human rights abuses occurring in the Indian illegally occupied region of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to reports, the spokesperson for JKLF, Muhammad Rafiq Dar, highlighted the key points of the conference in a statement issued from Islamabad. He noted that the attending parliamentarians expressed solidarity with the unjustly incarcerated JKLF chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik. Malik has been sentenced to life imprisonment in what are deemed as fraudulent and politically motivated cases instigated by the Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA), allegedly under the influence of India’s extremist BJP government, led by Narendra Modi. Alongside advocating for the dismissal of all politically charged cases against Malik, the conference attendees, comprising over a dozen British MPs, called for the release of all political detainees currently held in various Indian prisons.

The statement disclosed that the conference was presided over and coordinated by Richard Burgon MP from Leeds East. Notable British MPs such as Alex Sobel, Andy McDonald, Rachel Hopkins, Khalid Mehmood, Mohammed Yasin, John McDonnell, Stephen Timms, Imran Hussain, Ms. Naz Shah, Margaret Greenwood, Sam Tarry, Tan Dhesi MP, and Tahir Ali, along with JKLF leaders, delivered speeches. The event witnessed a significant turnout of JKLF office bearers, veterans, members, and other political representatives.

Rafiq Dar emphasized that the speakers demanded immediate action to halt the ongoing human rights violations perpetrated by Indian forces against the Kashmiri populace. Furthermore, they stressed that the issue of Jammu and Kashmir transcends a mere bilateral territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, asserting instead that it represents the unassailable right to self-determination for the people of Kashmir.

Participants reportedly urged the UK Parliament to establish a group of MPs serving as a ‘Fact Finding Mission’ tasked with visiting the occupied territory to assess the human rights situation, ensuring free public access to the visiting mission.