India angry with Labour leader for showing solidarity with Kashmiris

BIRMINGHAM: Indian High Commission in Britain is upset with Labour Party’s deputy leader Tom Watson for supporting the people of Occupied Kashmir unequivocally by condemning India’s move to take away the autonomous status of the region by revoking Article 370.

It all started when Tom Watson, who is member of Parliament from West Bromwich, marched with a large number of protestors in Birmingham to show support for the people of Kashmir. The rally was organised by Kashmiri group locally to  protest against Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, specially the deteriorating human rights situation in the region since India’s unilateral withdrawal from Article 370 and imposing a curfew and media and communications blackout in the Kashmir valley.

Addressing the rally in Birmingham’s Victoria Square outside the city council , the deputy leader of Labour Party Tom Watson MP said: “I bring you solidarity on behalf of the Labour movement in the United Kingdom. I’ve worked with many of you for the last 20 years and I’ve never seen more worries on your faces and I have seen on your faces in the last 25 days. You’re worried about your loved ones you can’t communicate with. We’ve read the stories where people do not get medical supplies. There is no food, or water, or basic provisions. That is what they call a humanitarian crisis. And this is a responsibility for all of us in the international community.”

The High Commission raised issue with Geo correspondent Saima Haroon’s tweet which read: “Strong words by @tom_watson deputy leader @UKLabour at #KashmirSolidarityDay rally outside @BhamCityCouncil to express solidarity with Kashmiris. ”

The high commission’s official account tweeted in reply stating, “Facts on the ground are - most of the phones working, no shortage of essential supplies and medicines, shops open, transport plying normally, most schools open, restrictions on movement substantially relaxed. Life is returning to normal. The High Commission will keep updating.”

Since then there has been a growing criticism on social media on Tom Watson for showing solidarity with Kashmiris mainly by Indians living in the UK. An army of trolls has been unleashed on him after Indian High Commission intervened.

The local Labour councilor and organiser of the rally in Birmingham Waseem Zafar appreciated MP Tom Watson’s words. Replying to IHC London’s statement on social media the Cllr from Lozels stated: “If you’ve nothing to hide, why are you not allowing independent observers to visit? If your ‘facts’ are actually facts, they will be independently verified.”

The Prime Minister of AJK Raja Farooq Haider thanked  Tom Watson. PM Haider expressed his gratitude for  Watson on social media stating: “We the people of Kashmir are grateful to Tom Watson for his comments in favour of oppressed people of Jammu & Kashmir.”

Later speaking to Geo News Midlands correspondent Saima Haroon, Tom Watson said that he has been paying attention as not only people in his own constituency & Birmingham but across the region and in the whole country are worried and he has seen the increasing fear on the faces of the families up and down in the UK since 5th August.

Tom Watson MP told Geo News: “There’s a whole community who have been excommunicated from the world by severing off communication networks, people worried about medical supplies and basic provisions, that’s the form of repression that is not sustainable in the long term.”

“These are unprecedented signs even in the region that has been troubled by the scars of disagreement for many years and in no circumstances where both India and Pakistan have admitted that bilateral framework is not working and it’s collapsing. The UK government has got to stand up it’s got to do all it can to try and resolve this issue.

"You can’t starve people into submission, you cannot put a whole nation of people into essentially a communications form of solitary confinement, you need to find a political process. I think I’m responsible for doing that as a Midlands MP but I also think the real responsibility currently lies with the foreign secretary Dominic Raab, that’s his job he should speak out. These people expects their government to do that for them.”