Subject : Your recent letters to the British Prime Minister and to the Government of Abu Dhabi on India, Pakistan and Kashmir Date : 25 August 2019 13:44
From : "British Hindu Voice"
Naz Shah Shadow Minister Women & Equalities Equalities Office House of Commons Constituency Bradford West London SW1A 0AA 23/08/19
Dear Ms. Naz Shah MP I am writing to you on behalf of the British Hindu Voice in connection with the two most recent letters you have written to the British Prime Minister and to the Government of Abu Dhabi on India, Pakistan and Kashmir. I note that you are Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities and represent Bradford West which, according to the last census, has constituents belonging to many different faiths and beliefs many of whom may not support your views which you express through faith tinted prism, almost in a unparliamentarily language. There are always two sides to a story and it is therefore bewildering and hurtful to see a British MP, who is also Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, take such very partisan and hypocritical stand on an issue which has generated widespread interest from Kashmiri, Pakistani and Indian diaspora right across the world. Let me elaborate. Talking about Kashmir, it would be helpful to know since you are the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, what your response would be on the following serious violations of Human Rights and if and when you have raised your concerns relating to Women and Equalities with the British PM or another Minister of Her Majesty’s Government (HMG)
1) Kashmiri women getting married to ‘outsiders’ lost their right to inherit properties.
2) The widespread use/misuse of Triple Talak by Muslim men causing immense problems and inequalities to Muslim Women in India including Kashmir.
3) Kashmiri Pandits-almost 500,000 –who had lived in the valley for thousands of years thrown out from their homeland and the State of Kashmir did not shed any tears on them or gave them encouragement to return promising safety. Where was the demonstration from the British Kashmiri lobby in London against such atrocities committed by some Kashmiris on other Kashmiris with the possible connivance of the Kashmir State? Aren’t Kashmiri Pandits Kashmiris or does their faith bar them from being a Kashmiri? Where was your protest both as a British Kashmiri and shadow Minister for Women and Equalities?
4) The Hindus who migrated from Pakistan to Kashmir, now numbering almost half a million after 1947 have been denied residency rights even after living there for almost 60 years. Yet, I am informed; Rohingya Muslims numbering about 100,000 were recently allowed to settle in Jammu and given permanent residency rights and citizenship. Nor are Gurkhas numbering 100,000, who settled in the region in 1846 allowed to vote. Where is the equity or the rational for this form of discrimination?
5) In Pakistan occupied Kashmir, if the reports I read are correct, the Pakistani Government encouraged settlement of non- Kashmiri's thus radically transforming the demography of POK. The Sunni/Shia balance has changed. Original Kashmiris are now in a minority in POK. As a British Kashmiri, aren’t you concerned about this manipulated demographic change in POK? Where are the demonstrations and voices of reason and fairness?
6) In the Kashmir state assembly, I understand there were no reserved MLA positions for the minorities e.g. Dalits, other backward classes, Hindus and Sikhs. There were no reserved jobs in Government departments or Education institutions for these minorities something that the rest of the states in India were providing under the Indian law and constitution. Any views on this blatant outrage carried out under the umbrella of ‘special’ status?
7) The kidnapping of underage Hindu girls and forcible conversions in Pakistan. It may be helpful to see any correspondence you may have sent to the British Prime Minister as a Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities.
8) The persecution of Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan.
9) The use/misuse of blasphemy laws against people of minority Faiths in Pakistan.
10) The ill treatment of Uighur Muslims in China.
With reference to the above, as shadow Minister for Women and Equalities you might be interested to learn what was said at the following UNSC meeting held on Thursday 22 August 2019---The Arria-Formula Meeting of the U N Security Council on ‘Advancing the Safety and Security of Persons Belonging to Religious Minorities in Armed Conflict’
Addressing the meeting, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback said “In Pakistan, religious minorities continue to suffer from persecution, either at the hands of non-state actors or through discriminatory laws and practices’’
Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion and Belief said at the meeting that the UK has spoken out for the rights of religious communities and minorities across the world, from the Uighurs in China, Christians and Ahmadis in Pakistan.
If you or your Labour Party have made similar unequivocal comments on treatment of minority faiths in Pakistan and China, it would be helpful to have copies of your correspondence please.
Within the context of all the above points, could you please explain what impact your “exclusively” one faith bias, and considering the inequalities you appear to defend, will have on community cohesion in both your constituency and the United Kingdom?
Now let me touch upon UN resolution 1948 on Kashmir which you seem to be so fond of quoting/misquoting
The UNSC resolution recommended a three-step process for the resolution. In the first step, Pakistan was asked to withdraw all intruders who invaded Kashmir. In the second step, India was empowered to resume control of the entire territory of J&K and progressively reduce its forces to the minimum required to maintain law and order. In the third step, India was asked to appoint a plebiscite administrator nominated by the United Nations who would conduct a free and impartial plebiscite. Please check the UN website if you need to enlighten yourself.
The resolution was adopted paragraph by paragraph; not voted on the resolution as a whole. From the above, you will note that as a first step, Pakistan was asked to withdraw all its nationals that entered Kashmir (this includes what is now POK). Dependent on the completion of step one, step two and three would follow. 72 years on, Pakistan has not withdrawn its troops from POK and so step second and third have became redundant.
So in the name of fairness, if you want to refer to UN resolution of 1948, please be a true objective parliamentarian and do your post some justice by sticking to the Truth.
It is inaccurate to assert that Article 370 has been abrogated since it remains intact. Only Article 35A, which was inserted, within the ambit of Article 370, in 1954 by a Presidential order that created exceptions and suspended some of the fundamental rights for citizens enshrined in the Indian Constitution in J&K, has now been rescinded legally by another Presidential order and the Indian
Constitution extended, without exceptions to J&K. One of these fundamental rights is the right of non-residents in J&K to acquire property.
Human Rights issues are universal and should be condemned whether they are perpetrated by Muslims on other Muslims, or Muslims on minorities or on Muslims by other faiths. Unless one is prepared to condemn it irrespective of who is committing it, a faith tinted self-promoting partisan approach, especially by a Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities will not hold any traction with the majority of the population.
As Your letters appear to be biased around your faith and seems to be supporting the maintenance of disparity and inequalities, it would be useful for the citizens of the United Kingdom to know how you could still justify to stay in your post of Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities.
This question also arises for your local non-Muslim constituents in Bradford West who form the majority. Can they really trust and have confidence in you to have their issues dealt or be represented by you in a fair way and with equal vigour?
Finally, as the Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, it would be helpful to know which Labour Party policy framework the views you express fall in?
Yours sincerely
Pranaam
Mukesh Naker
Communications Officer for British Hindu Voice
Cc Labour NEC members
PM Boris Johnson
Secretary of State Foreign and Commonwealth affairs
British Hindu Voice Email - [email protected]
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