January 15, 2021: The British Parliament (MPs) have expressed concerns over human rights abuses by Indian forces in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The debate on IIOJK, proposed by Labour MP Sarah Owen, saw all parliamentarians in agreement “to hold the Indian government accountable for its abusive behaviour, especially in the Kashmir Valley”. They also hoped that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is due to make a visit to India at some point, will raise the IIOJK issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seek his reassurance that “all is being done to seek a permanent solution to the Kashmir dispute”.
The MPs from Bradford district, Naz Shah and Robbie Moore, while speaking during debate on “political situation in Kashmir” in the UK Parliament called for freedom and democracy in Jammu and Kashmir.
Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, maintained that Kashmiris have been shut off from the entire world due to media blackouts while IIOJK remains the most militarised zone in the world, with Kashmiri women targeted for rape and many people killed – amounting to ethnic cleansing. “Without UN rapporteurs allowed into the region, and with every report out of the region censored, how can anyone assure this House that a genocide is not taking place?” she asked.
Ms Shah also criticised the British Government for its arms sales to India, which she argued contribute to shedding the blood of the Kashmiri people. She said that from 2015 to 2020 Britain sold more than half a billion pounds’ worth of arms to India, adding, “without reassurances from the UN, we cannot be sure that we are not contributing to a genocide”.
“Minister, act now while there is still time or history will not be so forgiving,” she concluded.
Ms Shah - a proud daughter of Kashmir in her speech, owing to her roots in the region - also criticised the British Government for its arms sales to India, which she argued contribute to shedding the blood of the Kashmiri people.
Kashmiris have “been shut off from the entire world” due to media blackouts, Ms Shah said, while the region remains the most militarised zone in the world, with “Kashmiri women targeted for rape” and many people killed - amounting to "ethnic cleansing", she claimed.
“Without UN rapporteurs allowed into the region, and with every report out of the region censored, how can anyone assure this House that a genocide is not taking place?”, Ms Shah asked.
Ms Shah also said that, from 2015 to 2020, Britain sold “more than half a billion pounds’ worth” of arms to India, adding, “without reassurances from the UN, we cannot be sure that we are not contributing to a genocide.
"Minister, act now while there is still time, or history will not be so forgiving”, she concluded.
Mr Moore added that Kashmir has been under “heavy lockdown” since August 2019, after the Indian Government revoked Article 370, which gave the region semi-autonomous status.
“Thousands have been arrested and face harassment and imprisonment without due cause", he said, adding that the situation is, "quite rightly", causing "a huge amount of concern for many of my constituents across Keighley."
He acknowledged that British politicians were unable to decide on policy in other countries, but could still “use our influence to ensure that this terrible situation is investigated", adding: “The UK’s fundamental values are freedom and democracy. Now is the time to hear the allegations of human rights abuses from both sides, but particularly from the Indian side.
“India and Pakistan are long-standing friends of our country. That is strengthened by the large Indian and Pakistani communities here. But a solution to the situation in Kashmir must be sought - after all, both countries are nuclear powers - and must be sought at speed.”
Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley, maintained that properties are being destroyed and innocent people are losing their lives in IIOJK, while describing some of the stories reported from the territory as harrowing.
Mr Moore added that “properties have been destroyed and innocent people are losing their lives”, while describing some of the stories reported from Kashmir as “harrowing”.
He added that IIOJK has been under heavy lockdown since August 2019, after the Indian Government revoked Article 370, which gave special status to the territory. Thousands have been arrested and face harassment and imprisonment without due course, he said. “The situation is, quite rightly, causing a huge amount of concern for many of my constituents across Keighley,” he added.
Robbie Moore said British politicians could not decide on policy in other countries. However he added that they could still use their influence to ensure that this terrible situation is investigated.
MP Robbie Moore said that Kashmiris had been living under heavy lockdown since August 5, 2019, when the special status of IIOJK was revoked by India.
“We should be clear about what these lockdowns actually mean. No, foreign journalists being allowed into Kashmir by the Indian government and thousands of people being arrested under black laws.
“I know that the UK premier is due to make a visit to India at some point and I do hope that the premier will be able to raise the issue directly with Prime Minister Modi and seek his reassurance that all is being done to seek a permanent solution to the Kashmir dispute.”
The debate on IIOJK, proposed by Labour MP Sarah Owen, saw all parliamentarians in agreement “to hold the Indian government accountable for its abusive behaviour, especially in the Kashmir Valley”.
They also hoped that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is due to make a visit to India at some point, will raise the IIOJK issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seek his reassurance that “all is being done to seek a permanent solution to the Kashmir dispute”.
“I am sure we have caught ourselves at some stage moaning about the lockdown, but for the people of IIOJK, it's not something new,” MP Owen said in her remarks.
“There are people who are just concerned about human rights … You don’t have to be a Kashmiri to care about their struggle for self-determination, their struggle to live safely and their struggle to live freely,” the MP said.
She drew the attention of the house towards the barbarism of Indian troops in the occupied territory, saying there are numerous reports of Kashmiri women and girls being molested.
“Senior officials in the Indian government have put on record their intentions to make Kashmiri women a part of this conflict.“The Indian Haryana chief minister said some people are now saying that as Kashmir opens, brides will be brought from there, but jokes apart, if the gender ratio is improved, there will be a right balance and society.”
Meanwhile, MP James Daly, who is also a lawyer, said, “We have thousands of our fellow citizens who are from a Kashmiri background and have family members there, who are impacted and affected by their [Indian troops] acts on a daily basis.
“I, as a lawyer, have got a long list of human rights abuses … things like detention without trial. There are people in IIOJK who have been waiting 15 years for a trial, 15 years! There is no word from the international community in this respect.”
Further, MP John Spellar said, “India is a huge country with an incredible history and also limitless potential but that doesn't mean we should not hold the Indian government to account for its abusive behaviour, especially in the Kashmir Valley.
“We also reject this argument that Kashmir is an internal matter of India.”
Spellar said, “India is trying to change the demography of Kashmir by amending the domicile law which is against the fourth Geneva Convention.”
Another MP, Sara Britcliffe, said that she went to the Line of Control and was able to witness firsthand account of the situation, as “my constituents have been telling me for a long time of these, [which] are truly heartbreaking stories to hear”.
“We are in the 21st Century and we need to be doing something about IIOJK, which is the most militarised zone in the world.”
MP Paul Bristow said that the central point that “I want to make is what happens in Kashmir, matters here in the UK and I would urge the ministers to raise with their Indian counterparts the arbitrary detention of Kashmiri political leaders, 18 months arbitrary enforced lockdown on the Kashmiri people as well as the ban on access to 4G services and internet”.
MP Jim Shannon said the lockdown imposed by the Indian government since August 5, 2019 has destroyed the IIOJK economy. “The draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act are being used by the Indian army to suppress the voices of the people of Kashmir.”
Stephen Kinnock, the shadow foreign minister, termed the Kashmir conflict the longest unresolved conflict on the agenda of the United Nations.
“As many as 95,000 people have been killed in the past 30 years,” Kinnock said. “The curfew imposed by India in IIOJK has had a profound and far-reaching impact on every aspect of life in Kashmir including health services, school closures and media freedom.”
MP Nigel Adams, the foreign minister of state, said, “We believe that it is better for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution to the situation that takes into account the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The human rights situation in IIOJK has been a particular concern to many in this debate and “we will raise these concerns with the Indian government”. sources /thetelegraphandargus.co.uk,/tribune