Birmingham residents stood with Kashmir at the Birmingham Solidarity Free Kashmir March. The protest was held outside BCC and protesters marched towards the Indian Consulate Birmingham. Hundreds and thousands of people from diverse communities gathered to show solidarity with Kashmiri People in Indian occupied Kashmir. They raised slogans against Narendra Modi PM of India and his armed forces who is brutally killing innocent Kashmirs in IOK. The keynote speakers were H.E Deputy Opposition Leader of the British Parliament and Second in Command Deputy Leader of the Labour Party MP Tom Watson, Leader of the council, Cllr Ian Ward, Jack Dromey MP, MP Liam Byrne, MP Shabana Mahmood, Phil Bennion MEP, Councillor Waseem Zaffar, Fahim Kayani President Tehreek-E-Kashmir UK, Ranjit Singh Sarai World Sikh Parliament, Cllr Robert Alden , Cllr Sharon Thompson, Cllr Muhammad Yaseen, Cllr Zaker Ch and others.
They expressed their solidarity with Kashmiri people and stated that the Indian Government should stop human rights violations in IOK. The International Community cannot tolerate any basic human rights violations that may take place anywhere in the world. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Kashmiri people and do not give permission to anybody to lock them down, steel their identity and hold them under siege.
The Right Honourable Deputy Opposition Leader of the British Parliament and Second in Command Deputy Leader of the Labour Party MP Tom Watson condemned the basic human rights violations in Kashmir and showed solidarity with the Kashmiri Nation. He said I know it is a bilateral agreement but india must find a solution to the long term problem. Thousands of people including men women and children are being effected and are struggling due to this long standing issue. It is the job of the Foreign Secretary to speak to the international community under these circumstances where the bilateral agreement has failed and Its our responsibility to find a solution. Human Right is not a domestic issue, human right is universal it is the same in the Sandwell Valley as it is in the Kashmir valley. The Labour Party stand with Kashmiris and urge the UK government to resolve this human right issue. In attendance were Raja Amjad Khan Sec APKCC ,Qamar Abbas President Tehreek-E-Kashmir UK Birmingham Branch & Senior Politician Ch Khadim Hussain, Riffat Mughal APWA, Samina Rajah, Rana Shama Nazir, Rabab Malik, Muhammad Ghalib President Tehreek-E-Kashmir Europe, Zubeda Khan Daughter of Kashmir, Asia Hussain BPWS, Bilqees Sabir Raja, Manpreet Singh, Amrik Singh Sahotha, Gazalah Ahmed, Maqsood Hussian, Rabiya Meer, Rani Arif, Ch Khalil, Mohammed Aftab, Ch Karamat Hussian, Taiba Hussian and others. Report by S M Irfan Tahir Photojournalist / Member National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Great Brtiain.
