London: The United Kashmir People’s National Party organised it’s inaugural international conference titled “Growing Extremism and Violence in South Asia and its Impact on Britain and South Asia” at the House of Commons in London on May 2, 2023.
Various British parliamentarians, human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, authors, and political leaders attended the conference and shared their perspectives on the increasing threat of extremism and violence. The UKPNP is a secular, democratic political organisation dedicated to promoting civil society, socio-economic development, and human rights in the region of Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan through peaceful means.
The conference was attended by party office-bearers, MPs, representatives from various NGOs, human rights defenders, civil society activists, and journalists, who discussed issues such as extremism, human rights violations, restrictions on freedom of expression, association and opinion, banned books, arrest and torture of journalists, and social and political unrest, and their impact on South Asia and the rest of the world.
Keynote speeches were delivered by exiled Chairman UKPNP Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, MP Hilary Benn Wedgwood Labour MP for Leeds Central, Fabian Hamilton Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament of the United Kingdom, Catherine West is the Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, Shadow Minister Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Dr. Naseer Dashti A human rights activist from Baluchistan, Mrs Una McGurk Experienced Barrister and Senior Counsel from Ireland, Mr. Junaid Qureshi Executive Director of the European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) based in Amsterdam, Fazal Rehman Afridi Pashtun political and human rights activist, Faheem Ahmad Baloch Member of the Central Committee of Baloch National Movement BNM Based in United Kingdom, Sardar Nasir Aziz KHAN Central Spokesperson of UKPNP, Mr. Munir Mengal President of Baloch Voice Association from France, Dr Hidayat Bhutto The Organizer of the World Sindhi Congress (WSC) in the United Kingdom and Europe and others.
Notably, Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, the exiled chairman of UKPNP, Fabian Hamilton, a member of the British parliament and shadow minister, Sardar Nasir Aziz Khan, the central spokesperson for UKPNP, and Barrister Una McGurk expressed their opinions and feelings about the conference to World News TV UK
Report by S M Irfan Tahir Photojournalist / Member National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Great Britain.
