Used to terrorizing Kashmiris seeking independence from India’s brutal occupation, Delhi thought it could force Britain also to adopt a similar policy.
The All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir in the British Parliament will hold Kashmir Solidarity Day in the British Parliament today (Monday February 4).
When the Indian external ministry tried to have the event stopped, the British High Commission in Delhi said British parliamentarians were independent of the government and could organize whatever events they liked.
Responding to Delhi’s ludicrous demands, the British High Commission spokesperson said: “UK’s Members of Parliament are independent of the government; it is for individual members to decide who they meet and for what purpose.”
The British government would not interfere in the matter, India Today reported on February 01.
The British High Commission spokesperson further stated that his government had no authority to prevent such events from taking place in parliament.
This was an indirect hint at how the regime in Delhi tries to terrorize parliamentarians into toeing its policies.
Blackmailing tactics include withholding development funds from parliamentarians for needed work in their constituencies to unleashing the RSS and Hindutva goons to attack MPs.
The February 4 event in London, to be attended by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as well, is being held on the eve of the observance of February 5 as Kashmir Solidarity Day.
There is a large Kashmiri community in Britain. The All Parties Parliamentary Group is also very active and comprises MPs from all parties.
Lord Nazir Ahmed, one of the most outstanding and active Muslim peers in the House of Lord has been instrumental in mobilizing support for the Kashmiri cause.
Himself of Kashmiri origin, Lord Ahmed is a strong advocate for peace and justice, be it for the Palestinian people or the Rohingya refugees.
The February 4 Kashmir Solidarity Conference will be followed by an exhibition in London. It will aim to highlight the centrality of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the grave human rights violations perpetrated against the Kashmiri people.
Last June, the UN Human Rights High Commission issued a scathing report meticulously documenting Indian crimes against the Kashmir people.
The 49-page report called upon India to cease forthwith from such practices and to allow for an independent investigation of these crimes.
India, that claims to be the ‘largest democracy in the world’, has flatly refused to allow independent observers to enter Kashmir.
The killing and maiming of Kashmiris, meanwhile continues.
That is why conferences like the one in Britain or in the US and Canada, are important to bring to the attention of the world the atrocious conduct of India ruled by Hindu fascists.