Cllr. Khalid Hussain JP highlights the plight of Kashmiri People in meeting with Foreign Secretary

London (PNI) Councillor Khalid Hussain JP, who is a senior Conservative from Bury North, met with The Rt. Hon. Liz Truss MP: The British Foreign Secretary of State.

Cllr. Khalid Hussain JP took the opportunity to highlight the plight of the Kashmiri People to the Foreign Secretary،

Cllr. Khalid Hussain asked the Foreign Secretary about her views on the lack of action in respect of the 1948 United Nations Resolution which gives the people of Jammu & Kashmir a cardinal right to hold a plebiscite to determine their own future.

Cllr. Khalid Hussain stated that “the Indian security forces often use excessive force to respond to violent protests by using pellet-firing shotguns as a crowd-control mechanism even though they have caused a large number of civilian deaths and injuries”.

Cllr. Khalid Hussain added that, “the Indian government should review its crowd control techniques and rules of engagement, and publicly order the security forces to abide by the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials”.

Cllr. Khalid Hussain, who stood as a Conservative Member of Parliament in the 2005 General Election, also decried the horrific human rights violations such as the killing and forced displacement and disappearances of Kashmiris and alleged sexual violence by Indian security forces personnel. He expressed concern over excessive use of force during cordon and search operations, resulting in civilian deaths as well as new allegations of torture and deaths in custody.

Cllr. Hussain noted that India’s Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act (AFSPA) “remains a key obstacle to accountability,” because it provides effective immunity for serious human rights violations. Since the law came into force in Kashmir in 1990, the Indian government has not granted permission to prosecute any security force personnel in civilian courts.

The UN human rights office also said that India should amend its Public Safety Act, an administrative detention law that allows detention without charge or trial for up to two years. The law has often been used to detain protesters, political dissidents, and other activists on vague grounds for long periods, ignoring regular criminal justice safeguards.

The Foreign Secretary asked Cllr. Hussain to make further representations on the important subject of Kashmir which remains a flashpoint between two rival nations that are also nuclear powers.