- Masood says India avoids negotiating table, prefers gun
Azad Jammu Kashmir President Masood Khan has invited British lawmakers especially members of the House of Commons to visit Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) to see how the Kashmiri people on this side of the Line of Control are enjoying freedom.
Speaking to the newly elected members of the House of Commons, he urged the British lawmakers to raise the profile of Kashmir in the House of Commons and make it more responsive and vocal on the plight of Kashmiri people.
In meetings with Tony Loyd, Jeff Smith, Liz McInnes, Afzal Khan, Yasmin Qureshi, Faisal Rashid, Jim McMohan, Angela Rayner and Debbie Abraham and MEP Wajid Khan, the Kashmiri president said that the British Parliament can play a role in exploring a peaceful solution of the Kashmir issue.
He said that bipartisan consensus on Kashmir within the UK would help the cause of Kashmir immensely. He said that the UK should help the people of Kashmir in finding a peaceful solution of the Kashmir issue and put an end to their suffering inflicted on them by the Indian forces.
He said that India cannot resolve the Kashmir issue by state terrorism practiced by its forces in the disputed territory and by silencing the voices of the masses demanding freedom and the right to self-determination. “There is a human rights and humanitarian crisis unfolding in Kashmir every day,” he said.
He said that India has cordoned off the Kashmir and was killing youth in Kashmir with impunity. Rampaging soldiers have been given immunity from prosecution, he said. “The forces’ writ in the disputed state is illegitimate and they use, what Amnesty International calls, lawless laws to kill Kashmiris and then demonise them as extremists,” he said.
“India prefers the gun over the negotiating table and that too against unarmed people. What kind of moral compass does it have,” he asked. He said that the United Kingdom, as a permanent member of the Security Council, can play a pivotal role in activating the UN in implementing its resolutions and promoting respect for international humanitarian and human rights laws.
President Masood complained that Kashmiris were a victim of double standards. Some nations, who champion human rights elsewhere, have chosen to side with India because of their profit interests or misplaced strategic considerations. He reiterated the resolve of the Kashmiri people that they would continue their struggle until they attain freedom from India’s occupation.