Letter
1 to the Government of the United Kingdom
Date: 02/02/2022
Our reference: TA000001/AJKUKJKA/02022022/SGEC0001
Sent by Tanveer Ahmed Rafique via:
1) francis.steer@parliament.uk
(Assistant to Sarah Owen MP for Luton North)
2) sarah.owen.mp@parliament.uk
(MP for Luton North)
3) james.belmonte2@fcdo.gov.uk
(Assistant to Helene Girling - Team leader for Asia Pacific region)
4) helene.girling@fcdo.gov.uk
(Team leader for Asia Pacific region)
5) abrahamsd@parliament.uk
(Debbie Abrahams MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth – Also Chair &
Registered Contact for All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir
6) A number of other MPs have been copied
into this evolving dialogue with the UK government through their own
constituents. Details will also be published once we have achieved the target
of 100 MPs out of 650.
I have been preparing this letter for the past month
and simply have too much documentation to share for a meaningful result
oriented dialogue to emerge, so that we can come to some form of peaceful and
ethical agreement about our respective legal and democratic responsibilities.
This dialogue has to be in phases as documenting a
summary of 16 years, 10 months - and counting - of uninterrupted
action-oriented research, is just not possible in one written exchange. I am
wary that if I send you too much documentation in one go, it could take months
or even a year to comprehensively go through it. I would suggest that I confine
my correspondence to two pages at a time. Wait for your response and then
follow that up with the next two pages of correspondence, particularly
identifying those points on which we may differ.
Our position:
Enabling the world to understand the concept, need
and utility of a geo-politically neutral territory named Jammu Kashmir &
Allied areas (JKA for short and adopted henceforth) which includes Gilgit
Baltistan, Ladakh and possibly other adjacent/contiguous areas for inclusivity;
subject to the local public reference and an inbuilt/unconditional ‘right of
secession’ from the outset. Water, soil, waste and human/land data management/autocratic
to democratic constitutionalism/economic and digital connectivity with
accountability/revival of Sharda University along with mandirs and gurdwaras
throughout AJK, are our prime public policy goals.
We will discuss sovereignty and the public reference
(proving legally that veto power over the future sovereign status of the
territory of JKA can only be exercised by those who qualify as State subjects
(according to the original document of 20/04/1927). Any aspiring subject to
citizen of JKA can disagree on the above legal interpretation and I would also
be keen to obtain feedback from anybody in the world.
In the meantime, we pursue our search for authentic
documents as to how this territory was governed since 1820. This also compels
us to examine the implications of the emergence of British suzerainty in this
region. We are confident that our neutrality will help us revive those routes
and traditions that the ‘Great Games’ of the past few centuries have deprived
us of.
The UK Government’s position:
“Our longstanding position is that it is for India
and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir, taking into
account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.”
Source: Any number of responses to questions on
‘Kashmir’ in the UK parliament
We wish to scrutinise the above sentence in due
course and explain in abundance why it does not qualify as a realistic
prescription and why – amongst other factors - it does not take into account
the UK government’s share of responsibility, particular with reference to how
this issue emerged in 1947, amidst the transfer of power proceedings, pre and
post August 1947.
It should be clear that I do not politically
represent the people of JKA or even AJK but have worked on the next best
practical alternative to a referendum, to the extent of AJK. Thus, I have the
most comprehensive data on public opinion in AJK and given that our political
representatives surrender their own rights before the Pakistani government
(which is not accountable to anybody in this region), it would be difficult to
convince any right minded person that the local politicians here reflect the
concerns and aspirations of the people they represent, especially in matters of
legislation. The Public Assembly - AJK is an evolved democratic outcome in
response to these conditions.
We also remain strictly committed to the globally
recognised adage that “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Summary of Public Opinion Survey - AJK …………………………referenced by New York Times and BBC
The above will begin to give the reader an idea of
how much distress, agony, torture and persecution one has to undergo in this
territory: to collect genuine public opinion and agitate peacefully and
creatively for universally recognised fundamental rights, based on that
opinion.
Detailed reports on each major intervention by occupying
forces to strangle locally designed and executed Ownership Building Measures can be accessed via the following
hyperlinks:
2008 - Islamabad and Rawalpindi Pakistan 2011 - Smaahni in Bhimber AJK
2013 - Khuiratta in Kotli AJK 2015 - Chakothi in (Hattian Bala) Jhelum Valley AJK
2015 - Leepa in Jhelum Valley AJK 2016 - Chinari and Hattian in Jhelum Valley AJK
2016 - Dheerkot in Bagh AJK 2016 - Abbaspur in Poonch AJK
2019 - Sharda in Neelam Valley AJK 2019 - Laal Chowk in Muzaffarabad AJK
2020 - Dadyaal in Mirpur AJK 2021 - Updated Overview
It would also be useful to take a look at the
following comparisons by Washington-based Freedom House:
|
Country/Territory |
Political
Rights |
Civil
Liberties |
|
United Kingdom |
39/40 |
54/60 |
|
India |
34/40 |
33/60 |
|
Indian-controlled JKA |
7/40 |
20/60 |
|
Pakistan |
15/40 |
22/60 |
|
Pakistani-controlled JKA |
9/40 |
19/60 |
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