Pakistan, India need to resolve Kashmir issue through dialogue: UK PM

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that Pakistan and India need to resolve the issue of Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) through bilateral talks. 

The British prime minister was answering questions on the dire situation of human rights in IoK where Indian occupation forces are carrying out a policy of genocide against Kashmiris and the valley has remained shut down for nearly four months now in protest against Indian brutalities. 

During the Prime Minister’s Question Time, Yasmin Qureshi MP (Bolton South East, Labour) informed the parliament in detail about human rights abuses. Sitting across the Prime Minister in the parliament, Yasmim Qureshi told the prime minister that India is involved in systematic killing of Kashmiris. 

Yasim Qureshi told the PM and the parliament: “In Indian occupied Kashmir over the last 3 months, 150 people have died, 600 have been blinded by the use of pellet guns, over 16,000 have been injured, many of them critical, there are uncountable and unexplained disappearances, food and medicine shortages. Will the Prime Minister meet me and the cross-party colleagues to discuss the human rights abuses and the issue of self-determination for Kashmiri people as set out in UN Resolution of 1948? Can you please raise this matter with the Indian PM Narendra Modi?” 

The Prime Minister replied that she took the same view on the issue of Kashmir that has been in place for decades in the UK. “I take the same view as this govt has and since I came into power and previously that the issue of Kashmir is a matter for India and Pakistan to deal with and sort out. She said that the Foreign Secretary (Boris Johnson) has heard Yasmin Qureshi’s representations and she was sure that he will be taking up these issues with her. 

Speaking to Geo News, Yasmin Qureshi said that she ensured that the PM heard about the crimes India is committing and it was important to raise this issue in the parliament in front of the Prime Minister. She said that Theresa May will soon be visiting India looking for trade deals. “Human rights of Kashmiri people come first and we will continue to press on the issue of Kashmir because the UK has a moral obligation to intervene in this matter and resolve in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people.” 

Separately, President of Azad Kashmir Sardar Masoood Khan and leader of the opposition in AJK assembly Chaudhary Yaseen will lead a protest against India outside 10 Downing Street and Indian High Commission on Thursday to observe Black Day. Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Rasheed Turabi will also take part in the protest. Barrister Sultan Mahmood will lead a protest against Indian occupation in Brussels, outside the European Parliament.