UK Labour leader faces stiff opposition from 50 MPs over IOK statement

LONDON: Fifty Labour Party parliamentarians have told the new Labour leader Keir Starmer that his recent statement on Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) after a meeting with Labour Friends of India is unacceptable, illegal, and historically wrong and he must clarify his position or face open defiance.

This correspondent has learned that Starmer faced a strong challenge and threats of open public defiance during a meeting on Thursday with his party's parliamentarians. It is understood that the Labour leader has agreed to issue a statement to ease the feeling of outrage within the 1.5 million strong British Kashmiri and Pakistani community. Most of the Labour MPs who participated in the meeting have traditionally spoken in favour of human rights and the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.