Birmingham MP explains reasons for English PM Boris to intervene in Kashmir issue
Mahmood said that crisis in Kashmir was receiving relatively little coverage and politcal attention.
BRIMINGHAM (Web Desk) – Brimingham MP Khalid Mahmood on Monday asserted that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson has a responsibility to support the Kashmiri people.
He said the crisis in Kashmir was receiving "relatively little news coverage and political attention" in the UK, the EU and Western countries generally.
According to Birmingham Live, he said the UK helped create the current dispute over the status of Kashmir, which followed the end of British rule over India and the Partition in 1947 which created modern India and Pakistan.
Mahmood said, "The UK, having been the architect of the geo-political arrangements at the time of Partition, has a particular responsibility to the Kashmiri people to act. "Moreover, more than 1 million British citizens of Kashmiri descent anxiously await our Prime Minister’s response,” he added.
He expressed, "The choice is simple: whether he offers his support to the voiceless, subjugated people of Kashmir or instead stays silent about the illegal, inhumane and undemocratic actions of the current Indian Government.”
"Without co-ordinated and decisive intervention, I fear that the situation will have far reaching implications for the region and beyond,” he continued.
The Indian government has revoked Kashmir’s special status, in a move seen by some as an attempt to annex Kashmir. Known as Article 370, the special status granted autonomy to Kashmir in exchange for joining the Indian union after independence in 1947.
The controversial move by India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, has led to fears of widespread unrest and paralysed normal life as tens of thousands of extra troops and security personnel were dispatched to add to the estimated 500,000 already present, making it one of the world’s most militarized zones.
Mr Mahmood pointed out that the people of Kashmir were promised a referendum to decide their future 70 years ago, but this had never happened.
In an article for website Politics Home , he said: "The situation in Kashmir has been escalated exponentially into the complete suppression of the freedoms and civil liberties of its people. Despite this, Kashmir is receiving relatively little news coverage and political attention. This effectively indicates that the UK, EU and other Western countries champion democracy and human rights with partiality.
"The focus on the current situation in Hong Kong - where there is wall to wall media coverage and scrutiny about a potential change to one law - lays bare the complacency that the international community is exhibiting towards Kashmir.
