The MPs have urged the UN to help restore communications and essential supplies, end arbitrary arrests and ensure accountability for deaths and injuries.
More than 70 British parliamentarians have urged United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to step up international engagement over the worsening situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), calling for an end to bloodshed, restoration of communications, humanitarian access and accountability over deaths and injuries.
In a letter dated August 21, Imran Hussain, Labour MP for Bradford East and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, wrote to the UN Secretary-General along with fellow parliamentarians, expressing “deep concern” over what they described as a dangerous escalation in tensions in the region.
The parliamentarians cited reports of deaths and injuries, restrictions on communications, arbitrary arrests, disruption to essential supplies and curbs on peaceful civic and political expression. They also referred to concerns raised by British Kashmiris over the safety of relatives in the region.
MPs Seek Immediate Steps To Stop Violence
The letter calls on the UN and its relevant bodies to support efforts aimed at ending the violence and preventing further loss of life.
Among the measures sought by the parliamentarians are restoration and protection of access to communications and unrestricted movement of food, medicines and other essential supplies.
They have also called for an end to arbitrary arrests and for those detained to be guaranteed due process and access to legal representation.
The MPs further want independent human rights observers to be given appropriate access to the region, along with those capable of supporting peaceful mediation.
They have urged the immediate resumption of peaceful dialogue and sought “full and impartial accountability for deaths, injuries and any excessive use of force”.
Parliamentarians Cite Recent UN Intervention
The letter welcomes the recent attention given to developments in PoK by the United Nations.
It refers to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s call for calm, inclusive political dialogue, full internet access, respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as well as prompt and impartial investigations into deaths linked to the unrest.
The parliamentarians also noted a subsequent statement by the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Spokesperson that those responsible must be held accountable where people had been harmed for participating in peaceful protests.
However, the MPs argued that such interventions were not enough on their own and that the situation now required sustained international engagement aimed at de-escalation, accountability and a peaceful way forward.
Appeal For Humanitarian Access, Political Dialogue
The parliamentarians have asked the UN to use its diplomatic mechanisms to help ease tensions and facilitate dialogue.
“Human rights can never be disputed or compromised. Lasting stability cannot be achieved through restrictions or confrontation,” the letter states.
It adds that any lasting settlement would require “meaningful dialogue in which the rights and legitimate concerns of the Kashmiri people are heard and respected”.
The MPs have also stressed that freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and political participation must be protected alongside any efforts to restore stability.
MPs Raise Wider Kashmir Issue
The letter goes beyond the immediate unrest in PoK and links the present crisis to the wider Kashmir dispute.
The parliamentarians referred to the UN’s longstanding involvement in Kashmir, including Security Council Resolution 47 and subsequent resolutions, and asked the Secretary-General to outline what further steps the Security Council and the wider UN system could take to encourage de-escalation and dialogue.