Online conference condemns Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir

LONDON: An online conference attended by British lawmakers condemned the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir and called on the international community to ensure justice was provided to the people of the disputed territory. 

The online session was organised by Raja Sikandar Khan of Global Pakistan & Kashmir Supreme Council and was attended by President of Azad Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan, Governor Punjab Chaudhary Sarwar, Senator Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum, MNA Naureen Farooq Ibrahim.

British lawmakers who attended the session included Lord Nazir Ahmed, Afzal Khan, Khalid Mahmood, Yasmeen Qureshi, Tahir Ali and more than two dozens leaders from various Kashmiri and rights groups from United Kingdom and elsewhere.

The AJK President said that Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom was at the most crucial stage as India has failed to suppress Kashmiris despite applying the worst kind of inhumane torture and draconian curfew.

Khan said that the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests across the world showed how human rights are important. He said that Kashmiri lives matter and Kashmiris have been unable to breathe for decades due to India’s racist and Islamophobic policies in the occupied territory.

The AJK president urged the international community to look at the situation in Kashmir and hold India accountable.

"Indian authorities have displayed and executed racism, xenophobia and hatred in Kashmir every day on innocent Kashmiris and now is the time to demand their right to a plebiscite," said Khan.

Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar praised the spirit of unanimity and cooperative approach on the Kashmir issue by Pakistan. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was doing his best to make the international community aware of the grim situation in Kashmir.

Sarwar said the COVID-19 has proved to be a challenge for the government but there was a national consensus on the issue of Kashmir.

Organiser Raja Sikander Khan said activists in UK and Europe will not let the issue of Kashmir fade while the world was focused on dealing with the pandemic.

The Kashmiri activist called on the UK government to listen to the voices of more than 1.5 million Kashmiris and Pakistanis who wanted their government to hold Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi accountable for the genocide in the occupied territory.