Eight million Kashmiris are living under most inhuman military siege in IIOJK: Moazzam Ahmad Khan
British Parliamentarians express deep concern over
The High Commission for Pakistan in London organized a Seminar to observe Kashmir Black Day today. On this day in 1947, India forcibly occupied Jammu & Kashmir by landing its army in Srinagar against the will of the Kashmiri people.
High Commissioner Moazzam Ahmad Khan presided over the event which was addressed, virtually and in-person, by a number of cross-party British Parliamentarians including Debbie Abrahams MP, Chairperson APPG on Kashmir, Lord Wajid Khan, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Afzal Khan MP and Naz Shah MP.
Paul Bristow MP, Khalid Mehmood MP, James Daly MP, Steve Baker MP and Sarah Owen MP sent their messages of solidarity with the Kashmiris. Besides, Raja Najabat Hussain, Dr Nazir Gilani, Victoria Schofield, Councillor Liaquat Ali MBE, Councillor Asim Rashid, Councillor Tamoor Tariq, Ms. Shaista Safi, Dr Ghulam Nabi Mir and Dr Imran H. Khan Suddahzai also addressed the Seminar. Kashmiri leaders, academia, legal fraternity, human rights activists, British friends of Kashmir and media persons were in attendance.
In his remarks, the High Commissioner highlighted the oppression and brutalization of the innocent Kashmiri people by the Indian occupation forces. He added that since 05 August 2019, more than eight million people of Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) had been subjected by India to the most inhuman military siege in recent history. He stated that torture, enforced disappearances, violation of the sanctity of home and person, extra-judicial killings, and even unspeakable crimes like rape had become more rampant in IIOJK.
The High Commissioner said since 1947, more than 400,000 Kashmiris had been massacred, 8,652 mass graves uncovered, in addition to 3,850 reported incidents of rape and molestations of Kashmiri women and children since 2014. He apprised the participants of the recently released 150-page Dossier portraying details of human rights abuses committed by Indian occupation forces in IIOJK.
Appreciating cross-party British Parliamentarians’ support for the cause of Kashmir, the High Commissioner said it was encouraging that the people of Britain, represented by their Parliamentarians, were conscious of the plight of the Kashmiri people. He reiterated Pakistan’s continued political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiris.
The British Parliamentarians expressed deep concerns over the worsening humanitarian crisis in IIOJK. They called upon the UK Government to play its due role to end the sufferings of the Kashmiri people. The Parliamentarians vowed to continue raising the issue of human rights violations in the UK’s Parliament and other platforms. They also urged India to allow access to human rights and humanitarian organizations on its side. The participants called upon India to repeal draconian laws, end military siege, lift communication blockade and release political prisoners in IIOJK immediately. They demanded meaningful intervention by the international community to resolve the conflict according to the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
