MPs speaking up for empowering Kashmiri voices

Simon Danczuk MP and Sardar Aftab Khan speaking at Parliamentary Reception

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Simon Danczuk MP has welcomed Members of Parliament support for empowering Kashmiri voices. He emphasised the need for the recognition and inclusion of Kashmiri cultural heritage and national identity in ethnic monitoring systems in the UK.

Mike Gapes MP, member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, Clive Betts MP, Chairman Communities and Local Government Select Committee, Steve Baker MP, David Ward MP and Jason McCartney MP called for the empowering of Kashmiri Voices in the India Pakistan dialogue process to resolve the long standing Kashmir conflict according to the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiri people. The highly influential and respected members of parliament were speaking at a Parliamentary reception hosted by Simon Danczuk to help the Kashmir Development Foundation (KDF), an indigenous Kashmiri development organisation, to showcase their work to empower the voice of under-represented people and communities.

The Executive Director of the Kashmir Development Foundation, Sardar Aftab Khan, highlighted the importance of Kashmiri narrative in the wider discourse on Jammu and Kashmir conflict and explained how the Kashmiri Diaspora can play an effective role in peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir. He said: “Kashmir society is intrinsically an open society. We have a centuries old ethos of multi-ethnic, multi-religious co-existence, but this openness is threatened by prolonged conflict. We need to secure our open society from danger of the unresolved Kashmir issue. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are striving for a peaceful society – a society where people have right to life, liberty and security. They are in a struggle to secure their right of freedom, a freedom from the five faces of oppression: violence, economic exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness and cultural imperialism.”

Renowned Kashmiri writer and analyst Ershad Mehmmod stressed the need to highlight the crucial role of including Kashmiris in any dialogue relating to Kashmir in ensuring a sustainable and just peace. He said: “This is a critical time for policymakers to devote their time, resources and intellectual energies to the Kashmir conflict for multiple reasons. There are an increasing number of reports from the ground in Kashmir of a likely resurgence in militant activity with the active participation of educated youth in Kashmir. There are concerns that governments have not capitalised on the period of relative calm (reduced militant activity and a “ceasefire” along the LoC) over the last 10 years to achieve significant progress on dialogue and peacebuilding, making a spike in militant activity and violence at the LoC more likely in the immediate future.

"It is widely acknowledged that people of Kashmir aren’t being consulted, and are not part of a wider dialogue. Both India and Pakistan have been engaged, but not talking to Kashmiris for over six decades. People living there know that they should be consulted – but there’s no mechanism, no official structure, no process that can take the local narrative into consideration at the highest level. There is an urgent need to establish structure whereby we can promote ideas to both governments. If they’re not talking to us, we should talk to them.”

Councillor Amna Mir said: “Within our community women don’t have much voice at all in decision making forums. Many women don’t even know what the issue is – don’t know the impact of division of Kashmir and the non-recognition of our national identity. It is high time for all to work towards women’s involvement at levels.”

Haji Akram, Chairman, Kashmir Development Foundation applauded the members of Parliament for taking note of Kashmiri Voices and welcomed the opportunity to work with them in building the capacity of the Kashmiri community to speak out for themselves.