SOURCE: TIMES NOW
A Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK)-origin Labour MP has sought UK’s intervention in the Kashmir matter. In a letter which brazenly refers to Kashmir as ‘Indian occupied Kashmir’, the MP, Zarah Sultana has said that ‘Britain had laid the groundwork for the oppression that Kashmiris face today’ by executing the partition of India. She also said that the UK has a moral obligation to ‘right these wrongs’.
In a tweet on August 5, Sultana had said, “1 year ago today the Indian government unilaterally revoked the semi-autonomous status of Indian Occupied Kashmir. Human rights abuses, repression & brutal lockdown ensued. I’ve written to the Foreign Secretary, urging him to honour Britain’s obligations to the Kashmiri people.”
On the day coinciding the anniversary of Indian government’s decision to revoke Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, Sultana, in her letter, claims that human rights organisations have reported ‘human rights violations, including torture, rape, extrajudicial execution and illegal detention’ in Kashmir.
Partition laid the groundwork for the oppression of Kashmiris, Sultana alleges
“As you know, in 1947, acting as a colonial power the British government oversaw the partition of the Indian subcontinent. This laid the groundwork for the oppression that the Kashmiri people face to this day. Britain, therefore, has a special obligation to right the wrongs,” the letter states.
The move may be viewed against the backdrop of several attempts by Pakistan to internationalise the Kashmir matter. Most recently, Turkey had claimed that India’s decision to abrogate Article 370 did not contribute to peace in the region. India hit back at Turkey and urged that country to refrain from commenting on India’s internal matters.
