AJK president urges Pakistani diaspora to raise Kashmir issue

ISLAMABAD/MUZAFFARABAD: President Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry has said that Kashmiris living in Scotland should play their due role in highlighting the Kashmir issue and draw world attention towards the simmering situation in the Indian occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

He expressed these views in a detailed meeting with Deputy Mayor of Glasgow Hanif Raja here on Sunday. Referring to the ongoing bloodshed and atrocities in Indian-occupied Kashmir, the president said that it was the responsibility of Kashmiris and Pakistanis living in Scotland to raise the issue of Kashmir at various forums and draw the attention of the international community, especially the government of Scotland, towards the serious situation in Occupied Kashmir.

He said that in Scotland there were ample opportunities for the diaspora community to mobilise public opinion in favour of Kashmiris. He said that the presence of MPs like Anas Sarwar and Hamza Yusuf, the first Pakistani-born senior minister in the Scottish government, can be instrumental in highlighting the issue of Kashmir and raising voices in favour of Kashmiris in the Scottish Parliament.

It is the best time to get the support of the government and the Parliament on the Kashmir issue”, the president said. “India has intensified its efforts to change the demography of occupied Kashmir”, he said, adding that changing the entire political landscape of Kashmir under the garb of delimitation was yet another conspiracy aimed at paving the way for installing a Hindu chief minister in the state.

“In such a situation, there is a dire need that the expatriate community should redouble their efforts to expose India’s nefarious designs in the region”, he said.