Birmingham Meeting Calls for International Pressure Over Yasin Malik’s Imprisonment
BIRMINGHAM: A meeting calling for the release of Kashmiri political prisoners, including Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik, was held at Birmingham City Council House, Victoria Square.
The meeting was hosted by Councillor Shaukat Ali Khan, Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance, and Mohammed Ghalib, President of Tehreek-e-Kashmir Europe.
Addressing the gathering, Raja Fahim Kayani, President of Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK, Chaudhry Mohammed Shakil, President of PML-N AJK Midlands, Muhammad Wajid Bashir, Dr Saboor Javed, Dr Khurram Bashir, Khawaja Mohammed Arif, Khawaja Mohammed Nisar, Naveed Bajwa, Sardar Khan and other speakers called on the United Nations, the United Kingdom and European governments to press India for the immediate release of Kashmiri political prisoners.
The speakers highlighted the case of Yasin Malik, who is serving a life sentence in India and is facing proceedings in which the death penalty is being sought. They also called for the release of Shabir Shah, Asiya Andrabi, Professor Fuktoo, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Naeem Khan, Naheed Soofi and other detained Kashmiri political figures.
The participants urged the Government of Pakistan to take Malik’s case to the International Court of Justice, arguing that he had no confidence in the Indian higher judiciary and that international intervention was necessary to ensure justice.
The meeting also condemned what the speakers described as human rights violations in IIOJK, including killings, enforced disappearances, the use of stringent security laws, sexual violence, unmarked graves and other alleged abuses.
Prominent Birmingham-based poet Khawaja Muhammad Arif, along with Khawaja Muhammad Nisar, Chaudhry Muhammad Latif, Raja Wajid Bashir and others, attended the gathering.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a special prayer was offered for the liberation of Kashmir and Palestine and for the elevation of the ranks of those who had died in the struggle for freedom.
Report by S M Irfan Tahir, Photojournalist / Member, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Great Britain.
