British MPs laud Jang/Geo for championing Kashmir cause | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

British MPs laud Jang/Geo for championing Kashmir cause

Pakistan Press Foundation

Members of House of Commons and House of Lords said that Jang Group has been the voice of oppressed people of Kashmir and the credit goes to Jang Group of Newspapers for being the voice of Kashmiris who have been subjugated by Indian occupation forces for demanding freedom from India according to the United Nations resolutions.

Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham paid tribute to the services of Jang Group and Geo News Network for being at the forefront of Kashmir’s freedom struggle. Lord Nazir said, “Jang Group of Newspapers and Geo have played a vital role in highlighting the issue of Indian Held Kashmir. Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman devoted Jang Newspapers to highlight the cause of Indian Held Kashmir and I always remember him in my prayers for that.”

Lord Nazir said that Jang Group’s Editor-in-Chief Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is highlighting the cause of Kashmir through his media group. Lord Ahmed added, “Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has personally assured me that Jang and Geo platforms are always available for the right cause of Kashmir and it’s his lifetime wish that the people of Kashmir should get right to self-determination. Since I started my politics, decades ago in Britain, I have seen Jang newspaper serving the people of oppressed Kashmiris through its reporting and editorials in the strongest manner. I remember that in 1995 I presented a resolution on the issue of Kashmir in the Labour Party conference which was attended by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Robin Cook, Wajid Shamhsul Hasan and others. It was the Jang newspaper that highlighted the important development. The Jang have always supported the cause of Kashmir and Kashmiris are thankful to the Jang Group of Newspapers for that.”

Lord Qurban Hussain, of Liberal Democrats, said that the Jang Group’s services for the cause of Kashmir are historic. “Whenever the history of Kashmir is written, services of the Jang and Geo for the people of Kashmir will be remembered in golden words. The Jang newspaper has always led the movement for the freedom of Kashmris. Indian held Kashmiris don’t have their own newspapers, they have always considered the Jang as their own paper, their voice.

“The Jang Group has always highlighted and exposed Indian atrocities on the innocent people of Kashmir. As a Kashmir origin parliamentarian, I can confirm that the Jang and Geo have always been there for me and have provided brilliant coverage to me in Parliament and have been a strong support for myself and others.”

Labour MP from Birmingham Khalid Mahmood said that Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has been a long-standing supporter of the people of Kashmir. “He has been a strong supporter of Kashmir and I have known this even before I joined British Parliament. I remember that Mr Rahman has been sponsoring meetings on Kashmir in the Houses of Parliament which were organised by veteran Kashmir leader Allama Muhammad Yaqoob Chishti. I say this as someone of Kashmiri heritage that the Jang Group has always been there for me on the issue of Indian Held Kashmir and has fully supported the cause. I will say that the coverage that the Jang group gives to Kashmiris is excellent and the group’s editorial policy has been brilliant in terms of representing the people of Kashmir. The Jang Group has been a great advocate for the rule of law, democracy and freedom. I have worked with this media house on a number of key issues including on the issue of counter-extremism and domestic violence. The Jang and Geo have provided voice to the British Muslim community.”

Afzal Khan MP, who was recently elected to the parliament from Manchester, said that for over 70 years the conflict in Kashmir has threatened world peace as two nuclear powers face off against each other. “Poor Kashmiri people have been facing increasing human rights abuse from high concentration of military occupation in the occupied Kashmir. The Jang News and Geo TV are invaluable in ensuring that this important issue remains at the forefront of the public awareness by exposing the human rights violations in Indian held Kashmir. I came to Britain as a child and remember how Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman started the Jang newspaper in Britain and provided vital platform to Kashmiris and Pakistanis. For over 40 years, Jang is the only daily paper in Britain which covers the issues of Kashmir. The Jang Group made sure that Kashmir issue remains important in British politics and civil society and that wouldn’t have been possible without the editorial leadership of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman.”

Naz Shah, Labour MP from Bradford West, said that she was grateful for the help she received from the Jang and Geo in highlighting the issue of Kashmir in British Parliament and within the community. “The Jang Group has always supported the campaign of Kashmiris. I get to know news about Kashmir mainly through Jang and Geo and the same group has always supported me in raising the issue of Kashmir in the British Parliament, including earlier this year when I spoke in the House of Commons against Indian atrocities in Kashmir. Freedom of speech is important and the Jang Group has done so with responsibility and it’s important that freedom of speech is protected and forces with vested interest and their propaganda are differentiated. The Jang Group has championed the cause of Kashmir and consistently exposed Indian atrocities in Kashmir.”

Labour MP Yasmeen Qureshi said that the issue of Kashmir is a big challenge and human rights abuses are taking place daily. She said that it’s important that people get to know what’s happening in Kashmir and “Jang Group and Geo have been effectively highlighting the issue of occupied Kashmir.”

She added, “Kashmir issue gets the best and comprehensive coverage in the Jang Group of Newspapers, it sets out the issue in most effective manner. The Jang has helped the world to realise that Kashmir is a flashpoint issue and two nuclear powers could go to war if the issue of Kashmir is not resolved and Indian atrocities not addressed.”

After Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider made a statement which was carried by more than half a dozen papers including some channels, some rival news channels in Pakistan started negative campaign against Jang Group in order to mislead the public that only Jang carried the news but the fact of the matter is that this news was sourced through various news agencies and there is video clip of it available.

Raja Farooq Haider has said what he expressed in a news conference a day earlier was based on the apex court’s judgment, which sent PM Nawaz packing and his deep concerns regarding the prevailing scene in Pakistan.

AJK prime minister expressed his support to the ongoing freedom struggle in Indian Held Kashmir and said the future of Kashmiris was linked to Pakistan’s prosperity. “Kashmiris do not have any option other than Pakistan and have been trying to become a part of the country since the past 70 years,” he emphasised.

He dismissed the media reports giving an impression that he was considering Azad Jammu Kashmir’s annexation to some other country. Farooq Haider said that he could not even think of AJK’s separation from Pakistan. AJK premier said his last day statement was distorted. “Our hearts beat with Pakistanis and I will still stand by my words,” he said.

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