London, October 17 (KMS): Lord Qurban Hussain, MP, has said that occupied Kashmir is going through the worst type of oppression.
Lord Qurban Hussain was addressing the House of Lords in London.
Following is the text of his speech:
“My Lords, Her Majesty the Queen delivered her humble address in your Lordships House on the same day as their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had begun their 4-day visit to Pakistan. The people of Pakistan have shown a very warm welcome to the visiting Royal couple. Indeed, the Royal visit shows the close relationship and level of understanding and cooperation between the two nations. I wish the Royal couple all the best and hope that they enjoy every second of their trip to Pakistan.
Her Majesty also spoke at a time when the British nation is at a cross roads with a looming Brexit and uncertainty overshadowing political and economic future of this country. I hope this government which has led this country in this mess will take the nation out this misery and uncertainty in the days to come.
My Lords, I feel this is a time that we may want to reflect and review our Foreign policy too.
Over the years of my political upbringing, I have witness war after war in one part of the word or the other. I remember sitting in front of television screen watching the Mujahideen fighting the Soviet Army in Afghanistan when the British Prime Minister Margret Thatcher and US President Reynold Regan went all the way to Peshawar to show their support to the Mujahideen. Then many years later, I saw the present war on Afghanistan led by US coalition to fight the very force that they supported during the Soviet Occupation. Then I saw 9 years of Iran /Iraq war followed by Iraq/ Kuwait war. Then the US led wars on Iraq, Libya and Syria followed and I wonder which country will be next and why?
During these wars millions of people including our own servicemen and women were killed and many more injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been made homeless whilst many of them were forced to flee their countries. These countries have been left with devastating effects.
Britain being a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a close ally of the United States, had a huge role to play in these wars. If we look back and be honest to ourselves and to our own people and say what we have achieved that could not have been achieved without going to war in these countries.
I would say very little.
If that is the case, isn’t it about time we revisit our foreign policy and start playing a more effective role at the United Nations and help resolving issues and bring justice to the world without going to war?
There are number of issues in this world that need resolving. Some of them have been discussed at the United Nations at length and the UN has passed many resolutions to solve them. And only if countries like Britain had played more effective role, they would have been resolved a long time ago.
One of those long outstanding issues in the history of the United Nations is the Issue of Kashmir that is waiting to be resolved according to the United Nations Resolutions of 1948/49 and many more subsequent ones to bring justice to the people of the state and peace and prosperity to the whole region.
My Lords, the state of Jammu and Kashmir is going through a worst type of oppression. According to the Amnesty International and the UN Commission for Human Rights, the Indian army is reported to have been involved in illegal detentions, torture, rape, killings, fake encounters and there are thousands of missing persons and mass graves. These reports clearly say that the Indian army is acting with complete impunity under the Armed Forces Special Power Act in Kashmir.
The UN Human Rights Commission in its reports of 2018 and 2019 has asked for a free access to Kashmir to investigate the reports of these human rights abuses. I believe India has refused to entertain any of these requests.
My Lords, Kashmiris living inside the state and abroad including roughly 1.3million living in UK, are looking towards Britain for help to bring an end to their sufferings and agony.
May I ask the Noble Lord the Minister, what the British Government has done so far and what they plan to do to help the UNCHR with regards to obtaining access to investigate the Human Rights violations in Kashmir?
Could he also tell this House what the government is doing to facilitate a dialogue between India and Pakistan to find a long-lasting solution to the issue of Kashmir in the spirit of the UN resolutions and the UN Charter that is acceptable to India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri people?”