by Hamza Khan, West London Socialist Party
The second in the recent wave of protests in solidarity with Pakistan-occupied Kashmir took place in London. Thousands of people from all across Britain gathered in Parliament Square on 5 July for a demonstration, ending with a march to the Pakistan High Commission.
The protest emerged in response to escalations in violence by the Pakistani state against the Kashmiri people. This followed protests organised by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in Kashmir.
JAAC’s demands include opposition to the reservation of 12 seats in the Azad Kashmir legislative assembly for refugees who fled Kashmir decades ago and do not live in Kashmir. JAAC argues that the reservation of these seats undermines the agency of the Kashmiri people in their own government.
But the JAAC has been declared a proscribed group under anti-terror legislation by the Pakistan-backed Azad Jammu and Kashmir government. The Pakistani government met these protests with deadly force, mass arrests, and internet and mobile data blackouts – all in the name of ‘maintaining law and order’.
At least 20 people have died, and many more injured. This has all resulted in outrage in Kashmir and the diaspora.
The London protest was full of impassioned members of the Kashmiri diaspora, chanting for azadi (freedom) and inqilab (revolution). Several Socialist Party members from across London attended, showing solidarity with the struggle for self-determination for the Kashmiri people.
Our socialist message resonated with many who attended, understandably angry at the Pakistani state oppression of Kashmir.
We call for an end to the violence against the Kashmiri people, the release of the imprisoned JAAC activists, an end to the cost-of-living crisis, for the economy to be brought under the democratic control of the Kashmiri workers, and for Kashmir to have self-determination.