Activist Shabir Choudhary once again writes to UK lawmaker over deplorable conditions in PoK

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir activist Shabir Choudhary has once again written to UK Labour MP Debbie Abraham, highlighting the deplorable situation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and said that 'no one should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment'.

Choudhary, President Foreign Affairs Committee of United Kashmir Peoples Party, said he had written twice to Abrahams, Chairperson All Parties Parliamentary Group (APPG), in last four months about concerning human rights situation in the region but did not receive any reply which he says is "unusual".

In a letter to Abrahams on Monday, he pointed out the recently held "rigged elections" in Gilgit Baltistan and said people of the region not only are deprived of their fundamental rights but are also seriously concerned about "looting and plundering of their natural resources".

He also once again called Abrahams' attention to Tanveer Ahmed, a British citizen, who was tortured and arrested after he removed Pakistani flag from Dadyal in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) on August 14.

"It is sad that you don't even care to reply to my letters, which is unusual. Also, you have not done anything about the illegal arrest and detention of a British Citizen, which is a matter of great concern to me and many other British Kashmiris. I hope that you and the APPG also share this view that 'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person', and that 'No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment', " he wrote in the letter he also shared on his blogpost.

"Perhaps, in view of some people, human rights of Tanveer Ahmed may not be their concern, as he belongs to the Pakistan (occupied) side of the divide; and the country which has illegally arrested him and still keeps in jail without any charges is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," he said.

He said that the APPG must be aware of the "bitter fact" that there are tens of thousands of missing people in Pakistan.

"Apart from that, I request the honourable members of the APPG to pay attention to the rigged elections in Gilgit Baltistan, and the Pakistani endeavours to change the legal status of this strategically important region, " he further wrote.

"Furthermore, in clear violation of the State Subject laws, tens of thousands of Pakistanis are settled in Gilgit Baltistan which is not only changing the demography of the region; but is also resulting in religious, social and cultural disharmony and unrest," he added.

(ANI)

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