A BRADFORD Councillor attended the annual Labour Conference, held in Brighton last week, to raise the issue of human rights in the disputed region of Kashmir.

Councillor Nazam Azam, a delegate from the City ward, helped to push an emergency motion on Kashmir which was passed by the Labour Party.

Cllr. Azam said it was important that “The atrocities and injustices that the people of Kashmir are being subjected to” were addressed.

“We have a moral duty to speak about human rights violations and that is why we had to raise this issue.”

Kashmir is a disputed territory in south Asia that is claimed by both Pakistan and India. Britain ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from the 17th to the 20th century, but when they left the region they split it into two separate countries, Pakistan and India, in a 1947 process commonly referred to as ‘partition’.

Since partition, there has been conflict over the position of Kashmir, with Pakistan and India fighting two wars over it, while many Kashmiris have also expressed a desire for independence.

Today, the majority of Kashmir is under Indian control, while a smaller part of the region belongs to Pakistan and some parts even governed by China.

Pakistani-administered Kashmir is known as Azad Kashmir (meaning ‘free Kashmir’ in Urdu) and is where the majority of British-Pakistanis in Bradford and West Yorkshire, including Cllr Azam, descend from.

On August 5, the Indian government revoked Article 370 – a long-standing agreement which gave Kashmir semi-autonomous status – leading to unrest as well as media blackouts, the cutting off of telephone networks and the banning of public gatherings.

As a result of the unrest, there have been civilian deaths and controversial detentions and imprisonment, including that of 83-year-old MP and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah.

Cllr Azam said, “180,000 troops have gone into Kashmir since August 5, many people have been killed and made homeless, while the international community remains silent.”

“I have been given the opportunity, as a delegate of Bradford West CLP, to attend the Labour Conference. The issue of Kashmir is high on the agenda – we have to create awareness with the platform we have.”

Choudhary Rangzeb, the former Lord Mayor of Bradford, also said, “This is not a Muslim or a Pakistani issue – it is a humanitarian one. Kashmiri people should be given their human right of self-determination and be allowed to decide their future for themselves, democratically, and not have their rights violated.”

“We fear that the killings of Kashmiri civilians could amount to ethnic cleansing. It is not just Kashmiris who should oppose this, but anyone as a human being who cares about other human beings. The day we as humanity stop caring about each other, is the day we accept defeat.”

“History has taught us that even a small group of people can make a change. Bradford has always provided one of the strongest voices when it comes to human rights of oppressed people throughout the world, and Cllr Azam is a testament to that.”

Cllr Azam said, “Similar conflicts have occurred throughout history but we have failed to learn from them. There is a poem by Martin Niemöller called ‘First They Came’ which tells us that if you do not speak out for others, no one will then be left to speak out for you. As humanity, we need to unite to help one another.”