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UK Labour Party passes Kashmir resolution, calls for int’l intrusion

UK Labour Party passes Kashmir resolution, calls for int’l intrusion
September 26, 2019
LONDON (92 News) – The UK Labour Party passed an resolution on Kashmir and called for international intrusion in the grave situation of human rights violation in Indian Occupied kahsmir (IoK). The UK Labour Party party passed a resolution on Kashmir calling for party leader Jeremy Corbyn to seek international observers to enter the region and demand the right of self-determination for its people, drawing criticism from the Indian diaspora representatives who described it as ill conceived and misinformed. In contrast with the British government's official stand of Kashmir being a bilateral issue between Pakistanand India, the Opposition resolution tabled at Labour's annual party conference in Brighton calls for intervention by Corbyn to ensure someone from the party is represented to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the issue. “The conference urges the Labour party to ask Jeremy Corbyn or ensure someone from the labour party is represented to attend the UNHRC to demand the restoration of basic human rights including the freedom of speech and communication, the lifting of curfews, and to allow the humanitarian aid organisation and international observers to enter the region,” reads the resolution. The resolution was tabled on Tuesday by the Leyton and Wanstead and Nottingham East Constituency Labour Party wings and passed on Wednesday. The resolution also calls for Corbyn to meet the high commissioners of both Pakistan and India to ensure there is mediation and restoration of peace and normality to prevent a potential nuclear conflict. “Accept that Kashmir is a disputed territory and the people of Kashmir should be given the right of self-determination in accordance with UN resolutions,” the resolution states. “The Labour party to stand with the Kashmiri people....this is vital as we stand for social justice and ethical foreign policy.” It notes that while the party conference is taking place in the UK Pakistan and India are discussing the issue of Kashmir at the UN amid a major humanitarian crisis and several exchanges of fire across the Line of Control. In an apparent reference to the revocation of Article 370, it condemns the house arrest and imprisonment of mainstream politicians and activists and restrictions on journalistic freedom, claiming that ongoing communications blackout continues to cause disruption for families.