Special Conference on Kashmir in House of Commons London Wednesday 26th October 2011

Dear Members of Parliament UK,



Re:
Special Conference on Kashmir on Wednesday 26th October 2011 in Committee Room P at Port Caullis House, House of Commons London from 6pm to 8pm.
Where the Newly Elected Prime minister of Azad Kashmir Ch Abdul Majeed will be present as the Chief Guest.
Organised by Jammu Kashmir Self Determination Movement Europe.
Invitation by Raja Najabat Hussain on behalf of Jammu Kashmir Self Determination Movement.





I am writing to you on behalf of the Jammu Kashmir National Independence Alliance (JKNIA) UK in your capacity as a possible invitee to the above mentioned Special Conference at the House Commons at 6-00pm on Wednesday 26th October 2011 to draw your attention to the following issues which are relevant for proper exercise of the Right of Self Determination for the independence of entire Kashmir (including both the Indian Occupied Kashmir and the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir)



1. That any referendum or vote on right of self determination must include an option for a United and completely Independent Kashmir and not just the options for Kashmir being part of India or Pakistan.



2. Any negotiations on the referendum or vote on right of self determinations must include representation from Kashmiri organisations and parties who support the Option of United and completely Independent Kashmir as this view is not represented by the people who are part of the State Government in Indian and Pakistani Occupied Kashmir.



3. As you may be aware and may be able to verify from the Chief Guest who is representing Pakistan Occupied Kashmir at the conference on 26th October as the Prime minister of the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (Azad Kashmir) represents a Legislative assembly for which people and parties supporting the idea of independent Kashmir are not allowed to take part in the election.In order to qualify as the candidates for the elections for this assembly they have to declare an Oath that they support the annexation of Kashmir to
Pakistan.



As you may be aware JKNIA is an alliance of a number of Political Parties and organisations working for the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through negotiated settlement for complete independence and unification of Kashmir.



We are writing to request you to take into consideration the issues raised above which are supported by many people of Kashmiri origin living in the UK including many who may live in your constituency and kindly consider making your support for right of self determination conditional to the inclusion of the option for united and completely independent Kashmir and asking the Government of Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to lift the ban on the parties which support the option of United and completely independent Kashmir.

Nadeem Aslam
Secretary General JKNIA
E-mail nadeemjknia@aol.com


Jammu Kashmir National Independence Alliance (JKNIA)

Member Parties

1. Jammu Kashmir National Liberation Conference (JKNLC EU)
2. Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party (JKNAP UK)
3. Jammu Kashmir Freedom Movement (KFM)
4. Association of British Kashmiris (ABK)
5. Kashmir Liberation Organisation (KLO)
6. Jammu Kashmir Plebiscite Front (JKPF)
7. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)

Kashmiri Diaspora An Excluded Identity in Britain.

To,
Ed Miliband MP,
Leader Labour Party and opposition leader in house of commons UK


Kashmiri Diaspora An Excluded Identity in Britain.

On 15th August 1947The British Paramountcy ceased to exist and the sovereignty of the Kashmir state was legally reverted to the people of Kashmir automatically This reversion of sovereignty to the people of Kashmir was in the consequences of the provision 7B of the Indian Independence Act1947.The people of Kashmir had a legal Right of Self-Determination to shape their own destinies by forming their own Government? After 64 years of this conflict between India and Pakistan fought full scale wars and forcibly divided former princely state Jammu Kashmir into four parts Indian Occupied Jammu Kashmir (IOK),Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, (POK), Azad Kashmir, Gigit Baltistan , Aksai Chin (Chinese control areas) Pakistan gifted to China in 1962.We urge to all extend to their full support for United Independent Kashmir, free of military and every sort of weapons. Inclusion of British Kashmiri as a ethnic group in Britain.We would like to draw your attention to the other forms of human rights violation on both sides of the division line in Kashmir. The worse form of the violation is to bar any person or political party from participating in elections, joining employment or issuing any publication without pledging support to state’s accession to Pakistan or the Indian Constitution. These restrictions closes all the doors for peaceful, democratic and civil forms of protest and leave young Kashmiris vulnerable to ‘illegal’ and ‘extreme’ means of expressing their aspirations for independence.
Another rights violation of Kashmiri Diaspora which has roots in Jammu Kashmir but migrated to Britain is the negation and non-recognition of Kashmiri identity in Britain and branding British Kashmiris as Pakistanis or Indians depending which side of the division they come from. It is time that British MPs ask the governments of India and Pakistan to lift undemocratic banns on political participation in democratic process, release all political prisoners, issue state subject in a card form and let all state subjects move freely across the division line, initially all the families that are divided across the division line to be free to see each other without going through years long bureaucratic processes. However, as you can see the issue is primarily a political one and needs political approach to address the issue of military and civil occupation of Jammu Kashmir by India and Pakistan that causes HR violations in Jammu Kashmir. The following measures to resolve the Kashmir Question according the will and wishes of the people of Kashmir:

Withdraw all foreign forces from all parts of Kashmir state;
Release of all political Prisoners including the mortal remains of the leader of national independence and unification movement Mohammed Maqbool Bhatt from Tihar prison Delhi;
Complete freedom of trade and movement across the division line and internationally for all the State Subjects ;
Freedom of Press and Assembly ;
Removal of all restrictions on the politics of independence for free and fair elections in the entire state for regional assemblies and a national assembly;
Making necessary arrangements for Self Determination including and with the right to independence through a fair, free and democratic mechanism.


Nadeem Aslam
Secretary General JKNIA
E-mail nadeemjknia@aol.com

Jammu Kashmir National Independence Alliance UK (JKNIA)

Thanks to Shamas Rehman for his contribution to draft above letter.

4th OCTOBER 1947 IS THE BIRTHDAY OF THE PROVISIONAL REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU KASHMIR

 
4th OCTOBER 1947 IS THE BIRTHDAY OF THE PROVISIONAL REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU KASHMIR

By, M.A.Aseem

4th October 1947 is the true birthday of the provisional Republican Government of Kashmir also known as Azad Kashmir Government. The nearest past origin of Republican Government of Kashmir lies in the uprising in Poonch during the year of 1947. the simmering revolt in Poonch erupted into an open resistance in July - August 1947. it sparked of by a series of events and exploded by the British announcement that the two new states. Bharat and Pakistan, in British India were to be created and British imperialism was about to leave India.

In January 1947, assembly elections were conducted in Kashmir. In February, Atlee, the British Prime Minister, announced the British Government's decision to quit India in the very near future. The people of Kashmir suspected that something was going to happen, but no one knew where and how. It happened in Poonch in the spring of 1947. The Raja of Poonch was a tributary to the Maharaja of Kashmir. He was dispossessed of his estates during the Second World War and Maharaja of Kashmir began to collect taxes in Poonch. Both the rulers and the taxes were very harsh and exacting. The people of Poonch defied the law of Maharaja by unleashing a no tax campaign in spring 1947,

Among the 7167 Kashmir! soldiers who served in the Second World War 6402 were from Poonch. The people of Poonch complained against the harsh taxes. There was a tax on every hearth, every window, every wife, every cow, every sheep and every buffalo. Further more, The zaldari tax was imposed to pay the cost of taxation, and Dogra troops were billeted on the people of Poonch to enforce the collection. Maharaja Hari Sing had previously refused to accept these soldiers in his military forces after their demobilization and had sent them back to their farms. At the same time, he had strengthened his garrisons in the areas of Poonch including Mirpur with the Sikhs and Hindu Dogras. The people of Poonch including Mirpur did not take it laying down.

No sooner did the appointed day (15th August 1947) arrive than they set themselves for combing the areas for the establishment of a free zone in south-western part of the Kashmir State. On 15th August 1947, the British Paramountcy ceased to exist and the sovereignty of the Kashmir State was legally reverted to the people of Kashmir automatically. This reversion of sovereignty to the people of Kashmir was in the consequence of the provision 7B of the Indian Independent Act of 1947. Thus, the people of Kashmir had a legal right of self-determination to shape their own destinies by forming their own government.


As a result, the struggle for the liberation and independence of Kashmir accelerated by the uprising in Jammu and Poonch around September-October 1947. it was during this period of struggle that Provisional Republican Government of Kashmir (Azad Kashmir Government) was formed on 4th October 1947. On that day the patriotic members of the Muslim Conference assembled at Paris Hotel in Rawalpindi to form a revolutionary government of Kashmir. After several meetings and long deliberation the draft declaration was eventually finalized. The cabinet of this government consisted of:
Khwaja Ghulam Nabi Gilkar (Anwar)-Presedent
Sardar Mohammad Ibrahim Khan - Prime Minister
Nazir Hussain Shah - Finance Minister
Mr Aleem - Education Minister
Mr. Karkhana - Industry Minister
Mr. Fahim - Agriculture Minister

Muzaffarabad was made as headquarters of the Provisional Republican Government. In this connection another meeting was held at Persian Hotel on 5th October. About 200 Kashmiris participated this meeting and all agreed to the declaration and offered their full support and assistance to the newly born Independent Republican Government of Kashmir.

On 4th and 5th October 1947, Radio Pakistan broadcast the declaration of the Provisional Government repeatedly. The declaration was also published in several newspapers.
The Civil and Military Gazette Lahore of 8th October 1947 writes:
Provisional Republican Government for Kashmir Muslim Conference Leaders Announcement
"A provisional Republican Government has
been set up for Kashmir State with headquarters at
Muzaffarabad in Kashmir territory 20 miles from
Pakistan border, according to the telegram received from
Rawalpindi on Saturday night. The message which is
signed by Mr. Anwar who describes himself as the
President of Provisional Republican Government of
Kashmir state, with the termination of paramountcy of
the Biritsh Crown the ruling family of Kashmir have lost
whatever rights it claimed under the treaty of Amritsar
(1846) under which Kashmir was transferred by the
British to Maharaja Ghulab Singh a forefather of the
present ruler for a paltry sum of rupees 50 lakhs and that
the payment with headquarters at Muzaffarabad.
The people have set up a Provisional Republican
Government

message further states, if after one a.m. on 4th October 1947, Hari Sing the ...(deposed) Maharaja or any person acting under his orders or instructions claims to rule over the state, he shall be punished according to the laws of the Provisional Government Henceforth all laws, orders and instructions promulgated or issued by the Provisional Republican Government of Kashmir State to be respected and obeyed. Mr. Anvvar is a prominent member of Kashmir Muslim Conference, the president of \\liich is Choudhary Ghulam Abbas and the general secretary Agha Shuwkat Ali (who) have been imprisoned for about a year by the (illegal) Kashmir government, (A.P.I)."

The opportunist politicians of Kashmir overthrew this Provisional Republican Government of Kashmir on 24th October 1947, after 20 days of its birth, in the name of its ‘reconstitution’. They succeeded easily because two days after the formation of the Provisional Republican Government, its President Khwaja Ghulam Nabi Gilkar Anwar rushed to Srinagar. His purpose was to form an underground resistance in the support of the Provisional Government, to arrest deposed and illegal ruler Hari Sing, and to warn Shaikh Muhammad Abdullah against the so-called Kashmir's accession to Bharat.

During the first two weeks of October the armed struggle that started by the people from different areas of the state hindered the return of the founder President back to Muzaffarabad. He was eventually arrested in Srinagar and his absence from Muzaffarabad paved the way for the opportunists to succeed in overthrowing Provisional Republican Government of Kashmir and turning it into a puppet government. Today. The opportunist Kashmir! politicians refuse to accept that the Azad Kashmir Government was set up on 4th October 1947. they continue, shamefully, to celebrate 24th October as the birthday of Azad Kashmir Government Where as the declaration issued with the name of reconstitution of Azad Kashmir Government RECOGNISES the legitimacy of the Provisional Republican Government and the formation of its cabinet. The declaration issued in the name of the reconstitution of the Azad Kashmir Government on 24th October 1947 itself cries out loudly about the true birthday of the Provisional Government that can be seen in 'The Pakistan Times1 of Saturday 25lh October 1947.

It states, 'The Provisional Azad Government which the people of Kashmir had set up- a few weeks ago, with the object of ending intolerable Dogra tyrannies and securing to the people of the state, including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, the right of the free self-government has now established its rule over a major portion of the state territory and hopes to liberate the remaining pockets of Dogra rule very soon. In view of this circumstance it has been RECONSTITUTED with Mr. Ibrahim Bar - at - law of Poonch as its provisional head, and its headquarters had been moved to Plundri in Poonch. The RECONSTITUTED government was formed on 24th OCTOBER 1947.

its cabinet consisted of Sardar Mohammad Ibrahim Khan - as President, and other ministers Sayed Ali Ahmed, shah Chaudhary Abdullah Khan Bhali, Khwaja Ghulam Din Vani, Sayed Nazir Hussain Shah and Sana Ullah Shamim."

The declaration issued in the name of the 'reconstitution' of the Provisional Azad Government itself admits the formation of Azad Kashmir Government on 4th October 1947 by stating three factual indicators. The first indicator, 'the Provisional Azad Government which the people of Kashmir set up a few weeks ago' — shows the true birthday of Provisional Republican Government. The term 'RECONSTITUTION' is itself an indicator to prove that the Provisional Republican Government on 4th October 1947. Understandably, the reason for not celebrating 4th October as the true birthday of Azad Kashmir Government lies in the final paragraph of the declaration. It says, 'the question of accession of the state Jammu and Kashmir to either DOMINION can only be decided by free vote by the people in the form of referendum'. This, without any doubt, can be regarded as no less than a historical raid against the legitimacy of the Provisional Republican Government of Kashmir set up on 4"' October 1947 and the basis for changing its political programme.

Thus, the course of struggle from 24th October 1947 onward has been diverted from National Independence to accession first to either Dominion and then with the passage of time to Pakistan. After looking at the declaration issued on 24lh October 1947, one should need no other authoritative statement or material to certify that the Provisional Republican Government of Kashmir or Azad Kashmir Government came into being on 4th October 1947.