LONDON: Several members of the Kashmiri diaspora in the United Kingdom staged a protest outside the British Parliament in London before marching to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister, to denounce alleged food blockades and the killing of civilians in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by the Pakistani forces.
Demonstrators held banners reading: “Stop the killings” and “Human without human rights”.
During the demonstration, the protestors called on the UK government to intervene amid the grave human rights abuses in PoK.
Addressing the gathering, one of the protestors alleged that the food supplies and medicines were unable to reach several areas in PoK due to the blockade by Pakistani authorities, resulting in severe hardship for the residents.
“People are dying because of hunger. People dying before they can reach the hospital. It’s totally unacceptable. You have over a million Kashmiris living in the UK. You have responsibility here. You need to intervene for the sake of humanity,” he said, urging the British government to intervene and contact the Pakistani authorities.
He further said that British nationals were reportedly stranded in PoK and called on the British government to ensure the safety of British Kashmiris. “Immediately ask for humanitarian blockade and curfew conditions to be lifted. Immediately ask for the food supply to let through to the people of Kashmir. Immediately ask for medicine to go through to the hospitals, to those elderly people who need the medicine. We ask you, the UK government, to protect British nationals, uphold human rights, and respond urgently,” the protestor stated. (IANS)
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