News Analysis |
A huge number of people protested outside Indian High Commision in London. Protesters carried banners reading “Kashmir is burning”, “Free Kashmir” and “Modi: Make Tea Not War”. Former British MP George Galloway and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfi Bukhari also addressed the crowd and condemned the recent decision of the BJP government of revoking article 370.
This is not the first time that activists urged the Indian premier to stay cool rather early this year, the global community had to pacify the angry Indian premier who was ready to wage a war against Pakistan, a nuclear neighbor of India.
Overseas Pakistanis..our special people! You’ve won hearts today across many major cities of the🌍. Recorded our #15thAugustBlackDay protest in organised & peaceful way against Modi’s tyrannical rule. You deserve appreciation..keep 🇵🇰 flying high & become ambassadors for #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/BFlr2jgOP7
— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) August 15, 2019
Ahead of the scheduled time for 1 pm (UK time), hundreds had already gathered on the right side of the building. Pro-Pakistan activists from London made speeches calling out India’s aggression and demanding freedom for Kashmir.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said more than once that silence of the international community shall create more serious challenges for the South Asian region and beyond.
Activists and speakers from local Kashmir councils also spoke out, demanding that India end the occupation of Kashmir. Furthermore, a sizeable number of Sikh supporters holding Khalistan banners lent their support as well.
Former British MP George Galloway took the podium to speak on the occasion. “Modi has taken the world to the brink of war — nuclear war — and as a result risked the safety and security of people all over the world,” he said.
Many of the London protesters had come to the capital from other English cities, especially on chartered buses. “We want to show our solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers,” said Amin Tahir, a British pensioner of Kashmiri origin who came from Birmingham on one of the coaches.
Read more: Massive protests erupt in Indian Occupied Kashmir
“Since 1947 Kashmir has been struggling to be free from India. Now Modi has changed the law by force to stop Kashmir’s autonomy,” he said.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfi Bukhari, who had been actively calling on people to participate in the protest, also addressed the charged crowd. “I think it’s a record-breaking turnout. I think it shows the resolve of the people of Kashmir, and others, that are against oppression, against tyranny. I think it’s really important that these kinds of voices keep being raised in the international community.”
Chants of “Modi the Butcher” reverberating on the streets of London today. There is a huge number of people out to protest the RSS atrocities in Kashmir and the unilateral assault on their constitution.#IndianHitlerModi pic.twitter.com/P5ODSWXmyz
— PTI (@PTIofficial) August 15, 2019
“It’s sad that a lot of the world, a lot of the places remain quiet. But, as long as people keep raising their voices as they are today, Kashmir will never be a dead issue. It will always be something that’s alive,” he further noted.
Read more: Protester dies during lock-down in Indian Occupied Kashmir
Later on, people on social media highlighted the atrocities being committed by the Indian government in IoK. Pakistan has been persistently pleading the case of Kashmiris and urging the international community to look into the matter. Prime Minister Imran Khan has said more than once that silence of the international community shall create more serious challenges for the South Asian region and beyond.