JKLF DEMO IN LONDON

Lord Ahmed calls for Maqbool Butt mortal remains to be handed to Kashmiris

LONDON, 11 February, 99

Kashmiris and members of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) groups staged a protest demonstration outside the Indian High Commission in Aldwych on the occasion of 15th death anniversary of their leader Maqbool Butt (Shaheed) and called for an end to Indian forces' onslaught against innocent civilians and demanded withdrawal of Indian troops. They were holding placards and banners bearing Maqbool Butt's pictures and pledged to continue with their struggle. About 200 Kashmiri demonstrators gathered from London, Luton, Watford, High Wycombe, Birmingham, Dudley, Bradford, Leeds, Accrington and Nelson picketed the Indian mission on Thursday afternoon and distributed leaflets to thousands of on lookers and media persons.

A letter from the JKLF (UK & Europe) addressed to the prime minister of India was handed to the mission staff calling for an end to atrocities and withdrawal of troops as promised by India's first prime minister, Mr Nerhu. The letter also demanded the release of all Kashmiri prisoners in Indian jails and called for the mortal remains of Maqbool Butt Shaheed to be handed back to his family for a proper burial in Sringar. "No one should under estimate or resolve to carry through Maqbool Butt's mission come what may", the letter said.

Those sentiments were echoed in a House of Commons Committee room where Kashmir Freedom Movement (not WKFM) had organised a meeting to pay tribute to Maqbool Butt Shaheed. Lord Nazir Ahmed, himself a Kashmiri by origin, hailed Maqbool Butt's supreme sacrifice and said that he is a ray of hope in Kashmir. He condemned India for not releasing Butt Shaheed's body to his relatives and said that he was seeking a visa to visit occupied Kashmir to meet with Kashmiri prisoners in various jails. He was joined by several members of parliament, including the chair and the secretary of the Parliamentary Kashmir Group who hailed the Kashmiri peoples struggles and said that the oppressed always won in the end. Freedom Movement president, Ghulam Hussain, condemned the banning of 'Shahoor-e-Farda' which contains Maqbool Butt's letters, and urged members parliament to put pressure on Labour government to support Kashmiri aspirations for independence. The plight of two Kashmiri prisoners in UK was also highlighted at the meeting. Other speakers including JKLF's Azmat Khan and Cllr Qurban Hussain questioned the disparity between Labour Party's policy on Kashmir and the British foreign office attitude on the issue and urged for steps to be taken for the government to take up a pro-active role on the issue. Ends