Tens of thousands of Kashmiris will stage
a peaceful march in London on October 26 under the initiative of a top
political leader from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to draw the attention of the
international community towards the longstanding Kashmir dispute on the one
hand and express solidarity with their struggling brethren in the Indian held
territory on the other.
An almost
identical demonstration will be staged in Brussels, the de facto capital of the
European Union, on October 27, which marks the 67th anniversary of Kashmir’s
invasion by the Indian army.
“The march is aimed at reminding the international
community of its pledge to the natives of Jammu and Kashmir, a nuclear
flashpoint in South Asia, who have been dauntlessly struggling and offering
unparalleled sacrifices for its implementation,” said AJK’s former Prime Minister
Barrister Sultan Mahmood at a press conference here.
“It is also aimed at expressing solidarity with those
struggling people who have not compromised their cause in the face of worst
ever atrocities by the so-called largest democracy (India),” he added.
Mr Mahmood, who has been on his toes for the past
couple of months to motivate people and make arrangements for the proposed event,
said he firmly believed that it was high time, in view of the prevailing
international scenario, to draw global attention towards the festering Kashmir
issue.
“An unresolved Kashmir issue poses severe threat not
only to the regional peace but also to the interests of some important world
powers, which warrants its amicable settlement without further loss of time,”
he said.
He said even though the international community had
pinned hopes that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would adopt a realistic stance
on Kashmir issue, he had however proved himself other way round “exactly according
to apprehensions of the Kashmiris.”
“There has no let up in India’s traditional
intransigence and in fact the persecution of Kashmiris has multiplied under Mr
Modi. We also want to expose him before the world,” he said.
Mr Mahmood maintained that irrespective of its outcome,
the referendum in Scotland had also strengthened the case of Kashmiris.
“If it could be held in Scotland on the basis of a bill
in the Scottish parliament, why not in Jammu and Kashmir where it is backed by
United Nations Security Council resolutions, apart from the commitments of
international community, including India,” he questioned.
He told that permission for the march in London had almost
been obtained, while it was under process for Brussels.
In London, the march would begin from the Trafalgar
Square and conclude outside 10 Downing Street, the official residence of
British Prime Minister, he said.
“In Brussels, we plan to hold it from the European
Parliament to the Indian High Commission,” he added.
To a question, Mr Mahmood said, since it was a national
programme, he had made contacts with “everyone who was someone” in the Kashmiri
and Pakistani diasporas in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
He called upon all political and religious parties to
leave aside their difference and prove as a Kashmiri nation that “we are one on
our common national cause.”
He said he wished that the pro-freedom leaders from
Indian held Kashmir were also able to attend the march in London or Brussels.
“As far as AJK based heads of political and religious
parties are concerned, I would love to see them among the participants of the
march,” he said.
“However, I am not in favour of the (participation of
the) governments because I want to keep it purely a peoples’ initiative,” he added.
“If people of held Kashmir are offering their lives, we
have to rise above paying mere lip service to them…With participation in this
march, we have to prove to them that they are not alone in their struggle but we
all are on their back.”
….. Tariq Naqash
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