London: Thousands of British Kashmiris on Sunday gathered at Parliament Square in London and marched toward Trafalgar Square to protest what they described as a brutal crackdown by Pakistani security forces in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), PTI reported.
Demonstrators carried banners and repeatedly chanted slogans calling for a “revolution” against the Pakistani presence in the area.
The protesters demanded respect for human rights and voiced support for the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which authorities in the region have recently banned under anti-terrorism laws. Placards and chants
included calls for action against what demonstrators called the spread of “terrorism” in PoJK.
Slogans such as “Pakistan forces out” echoed through the crowd as speakers and marchers accused security personnel of using excessive force. Protesters raised specific allegations of civilian deaths, harassment of women, and harsh treatment of peaceful demonstrators during recent unrest in the region.
Calls for “justice” rang out as marchers held up signs detailing the latest reported incidents. The London demonstration follows similar protests this week outside Pakistan’s consulate in Bradford, where diaspora communities also expressed outrage.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has voiced serious concern over the regional authorities’ decision to label the JAAC as a proscribed organization. Recent clashes in PoJK’s Rawalakot between police and JAAC activists reportedly left several civilians and policemen dead, according to accounts cited by demonstrators.
India has repeatedly maintained that Pakistan unlawfully controls parts of the former princely state, and has reiterated its stance that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral to India, citing the 1947 accession as “complete, legal and irrevocable.”