Members of the Jammu & Kashmir diaspora in the UK staged a protest in front of the UK Parliament and condemned “Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism.” The protesters held placards and banners that said, “Pakistan stop terrorising”, “Pakistan stop killing innocent people in Jammu & Kashmir,” and “The world must act on Pakistan’s terrorism.” The protesters called on parliamentarians and other institutions to take a stand and help end “Pakistan’s use of terrorism as state policy in Jammu & Kashmir,” according to the press release.
The protesters asserted that Pakistan’s agenda is to undermine peace and progress in the region, with little regard for the well-being of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. During the protest, members of the Hindu community shared their experiences of the brutalities they have endured due to Pakistan’s “terrorism infrastructure, which specifically targets them.”
They were joined by large numbers of the Indian diaspora, who empathised with them and stood in solidarity with those who have also fallen victim to terrorism–whether as members of the Indian Army or during Hindu pilgrimages like Amarnath Yatra or Shiv Khori.
The protest was organised in response to Pakistan’s propaganda event on Kashmir, held in the UK Parliament on the same day, according to the statement from the diaspora. Protesters say, the event ignored the realities on the ground in Jammu & Kashmir, including its illegal occupation of parts of the region without any basis in international law, and accused Pakistan of continuously using state and non-state actors to institutionalise terrorism.
Furthermore, the protesters claim the event excluded key stakeholders from Jammu & Kashmir, like Kashmiri Hindus who were ethnically cleansed from the region, as well as Dogras, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Paharis of Jammu, Sikhs, and the Buddhists and Shia Muslims of Ladakh.
Several prominent community members addressed the protest. Indo-European Kashmir Forum President, Krishna Bhan, highlighted the plight of Kashmiri Hindus over the past 35 years, which has largely been overlooked in Western discourse about the region.
Her remarks focused on raising global awareness about the suffering of Kashmiri Hindus, who were forced to flee their ancestral homeland due to “Pakistan-sponsored terrorism” in the 1990s.
Voice of Dogras founder Manu Khajuria condemned the sham event organised by Pakistan in the UK Parliament, highlighting its ongoing obsession with Jammu and Kashmir through invasions, proxy wars, and attempts to radicalise local youth.
She stressed that the real issue lies in Pakistan’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir and the severe human rights violations there, according to the press release.
A member from Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (POJK) echoed these concerns, citing suppression of dissent, arbitrary arrests and poor socio-economic conditions, including inadequate healthcare and education.
A digital van campaign was also launched across the city to inform the people of the UK about the historical and current realities of Jammu and Kashmir, according to press release. This effort is aimed to expose “Pakistan’s state-sponsored terrorism,” which continues to destabilise the region, as well as the human rights abuses in the occupied territories by Pakistan.
(with inputs from ANI)
