London: London Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned plans to hold an anti-India march here on the Kashmir issue on Diwali next Sunday, saying it would deepen divisions in the UK capital and called on the organisers and prospective participants to cancel the protest rally.
According to Met Police details on the permissions sought for the proposed march, an estimated 5,000-10,000 protesters plan to commence their march from Richmond Terrace near Downing Street and converge outside the Indian High Commission in London.
In response to a letter by Indian-origin London Assembly member Navin Shah, Mayor Khan said, “I absolutely condemn the plans for a protest march to take place on the auspicious day of Diwali, in the vicinity of the Indian High Commission in London.
This march will only deepen divisions at a time when Londoners need to come together. That is why I am calling on those organising the march and all those considering taking part in it to think again and cancel their plans, said the Pakistan-origin London Mayor in the letter dated October 18.
He said that his City Hall office would be working with Scotland Yard to ensure a robust policing plan was in place for such a march.
In response to Shah’s request to consider seeking permission to ban the protest due to public disorder fears, he added: As you know, the power to ban marches of this nature lies solely with the Home Secretary, not with me as the Mayor of London. I am copying this letter to both the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, so they can clearly see the extent of my concerns about this march.
Shah, in his letter, recalled the violent clashes outside the Indian mission on August 15 between diaspora groups marking Independence Day and British Pakistani and separatist groups.
I understand why many British Indians are so deeply concerned. Many have felt deeply threatened and worried since the previous protests outside the Indian High Commission. I can assure all Londoners that anyone who acts unlawfully will be accountable to the police, Khan responded.
The so-called President of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Sardar Masood Khan, and PoK Prime Minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan are expected to participate in the march dubbed the “Free Kashmir” rally.
The latest letter exchange over the issue of Kashmir in the UK comes as Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn issued his response to another letter issued on behalf of over 100 British Indian organisations, condemning the party’s stance on Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the Indian government’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
He repeated his previous acknowledgement that some of the language used in an emergency motion passed by Opposition party last month could be misinterpreted or lead to misunderstandings about Labour policy, both in India and among the Indian diaspora . But he stood by the party’s view that it remains gravely concerned at the ongoing human rights crisis in Kashmir .
The British Indian outfits, who had called on him to reconsider the damaging motion calling for international intervention in Kashmir, reacted with anger to the hugely disappointing response and said it showed that the party continued to disrespect British Indians and democratic India.
It’s obvious that the Labour Party are either oblivious or just could not give a damn about the concerns of our community and the damage being done to UK-India relations, said Manoj Ladwa, a UK-based media executive and among the many diaspora figures raising concerns over the Labour Party’s perceived anti-India stance. -PTI
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Over 100 British Indian organisations, may have handed over a letter to Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn condemning his party’s stance on Jammu & Kashmir.
A 100 letters won’t have the sobering effect of rally bigger than the proposed “Free Kashmir” rally to the the Pak High Commission in London.
If the British Indians can get their act together quickly, Sunday, Nov. 10 is an auspicious date.
Only the Home Secretary has the power to ban marches of this nature. So the Pak-origin London Mayor has deftly put the ball in the UK government’s court.
Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned plans to hold the anti-India march and has clarified that his City Hall office would be working with Scotland Yard to ensure a “robust” policing plan was in place for the rally.
The Pak origin London Mayor has condemned plans to hold anti-India march and also clarified that his City Hall office would be working with Scotland Yard to ensure a “robust” policing plan was in place for such a march. That’s as far as he can go. Only the Home Secretary has the power to ban marches of this nature.
Since it is basicly a ‘show of strength’, it is for the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) to organise a larger counter protest march to the Pak High Commission in London. Sunday, Nov. 10 is an auspicious date. ?
Turkey’s offensive, launched earlier this month, has resulted in hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes. This is the latest humanitarian crisis of Syria’s eight-year civil war.
We see Muslim refugees ‘escaping’ conflict zones. How come the repressed and harried J&K Muslims aren’t fleeing into ‘Azad Kashmir‘ or Pakistan?? This is a question the bleeding hearts should ask themselves.
We need to do all we can to help our Irish and Scottish brothers and sisters free themselves from the clutches of England, which has become captive to “Londonistan.”
Before the Islamic terrorists arrived on the scene, particularly in the form of ISIS, British intel and ISI were well aligned. This lead to a large Paki immigrant population and mosques in the UK. However, ever since Islam became synonymous with terrorism, Britain has been working overtime to get rid of the baggage. Still, the leftovers of the old alliance are able to call the shots when it comes to anti-India propaganda.
British Indian Ocean Territory?? What bu!!shit!! Why not have a “Free Diego Garcia and Falklands Islands (Islas Malvinas)” too??
If the so-called “Free Kashmir” protest march in London is a reflection of angst of Paki Muslims, the march should also go by the vicinity of the Chinese and Turkish embassies. China ill-treating the Uighurs and the Turkey is slaughtering the Kurds. Yes, both these are Muslims.
Along with the crocodile tears they’re shedding for their Muslim brethren in J&K, maybe they could shed a few for the aforesaid too??
The protest march to take place on the Diwali day in the vicinity of the Indian High Commission in London wouldn’t be reflection of angst, but just one more remote controlled move orchestrated by Pak on the political chessboard. Imran Khan can rest assured that India will make its counter move at the right time.
Speaking at an election rally in Rajasthan’s Barmer early this year, he put paid to the Pak ‘we have nuclST,ear button’ rhetoric with a poser, “Have we kept our nuclear arsenal for Diwali?” Ever since, Imran Khan has been trying all the tricks in his book to gain the upper hand vis-à-vis Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Indo-Pak relations is already a victim of
political expediency. PM Modi has clearly enunciated that Pak would pay for the cross border proxy war. Pak had been getting away with saying that they were non- state actors. There were also intermittent proclamations that Pak had nuclear weapons. This probably had the local population believing that they had India on their knees.
For the Porkie jihadis, hoping to get even with India is their raison d’être. And, Pak Imran Khan tries his utmost to inflame passions – wherever he can. A chasm already exists, so how much more can the “Free Kashmir” march in London deepen divisions??
Imran Khan is trying to get the upper hand vis-à-vis Narendra Modi, but that’s just not going to happen, as neither Pakistan nor Imran Khan has the wherewithal for it.
The Porkies have a conducive political climate in Britain. The recent utterances by the Labour party is proof that it continued to disrespect British Indians and democratic India. Britain seems to have become a vassal state of Pakistan. The Home Secretary’s action will prove it. After Brexit the Brits can vote to call their country ‘West Pakistan’ – like the erstwhile East Pakistan. ??? It would be a defining moment in world history.