My speech in the House of Commons on 8 October 2024.

 My speech in the House of Commons on 8 October 2024.

House of Commons Committee Room 15

Dr Shabir Choudhry

I start with the name of the Almighty.

Mr President, honourable guests, it is a pleasure to speak to you on this

important topic. To begin with, I want to thank Arif Aajakia for providing

this opportunity to express my views.

1. The topic of the conference is ‘Gross Human Rights Violations in

Pakistan.’ I am not a Pakistani, and you may think, why is it relevant

to me, a citizen of Jammu and Kashmir? Let me explain how it is

relevant to me. We, the people of Jammu and Kashmir, are also

victims of Pakistani oppression, injustice and imperialist policies.

2. Mr Mohammed Ali Jinnah and his followers claim that Pakistan

achieved independence on 14 August 1947 to advance the cause of

Islam and to protect and enhance the fundamental rights of Muslims.

3. However, they fail to tell from whom they achieved this so-called

independence. The fact is that Pakistan was not occupied by anyone,

a country in the name of Pakistan was established by dividing India

in the name of religion in August 1947. Before that, no country

existed with this name, so how could it be occupied?

4. The critics claim that the agenda of Mr Jinnah was to divide India in

the name of religion and promote extremism, hatred and religious

intolerance.

5. The British Raj in the Indian Sub-Continent ended on 15 August 1947.

Mr Jinnah was the Governor General of Pakistan, and no one in the

Muslim League could question the wisdom and decision of Mr Jinnah.

If he had been sincere in establishing the Islamic Shariah, there

would have been no one to oppose him.

6. He should have appointed a prominent Islamic scholar as a Law

Minister if he wanted to establish the Islamic Shariah. Instead, he

appointed a Hindu, Joginder Nath Mandal, Law Minister of Pakistan.

7. Mr Jinnah, on 11 August 1947, while addressing the inaugural session

of Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly said: “You may belong to any

religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business

of the State … you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease

to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the

religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual,

but in the political sense as citizens of the State.” 1

8. That was his second goodbye to the Two Nations Theory. The first

time he abandoned the Two Nations Theory was when the Cabinet

Mission visited India in 1946. The above actions should have opened

the eyes of the Pakistani people. Alas, those who are blinded with

love or hatred, could not think logically; and the majority are still

brainwashed into believing that India was partitioned to serve Islam

and help Muslims.

9. On the legal position of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Jinnah on 13th July

1947, said:

‘The question engaging the Kashmiri Muslims’ attention is whether

Kashmir is going to join the Constituent Assembly of Hindustan or

Pakistan’, stating that he had made it clear more than once that the

Indian States were free to join either Assembly or remain

independent. ‘I have no doubt that the Maharaja and the Kashmir

Government will give their closest attention and consideration to this

matter and realise the interests not only of the Ruler, but also of his

people’. 2

10. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, in another statement, said: ‘Neither the

British Government nor the British Parliament, nor any other power

or body could compel the states to do anything contrary to their own

free will and accord, nor have had any power or sanction of any kind

to do so.’ 3

11. Jammu and Kashmir had a Standstill Agreement with the new

country, Pakistan. According to this Agreement, Pakistan was to

provide all services to Jammu and Kashmir, which the non – Muslims,

the British provided during their rule in this region.

12. Despite this written agreement, Pakistani rulers planned to

invade Jammu and Kashmir. Major General Akbar Khan of Pakistan,

in his book, ‘Raiders in Kashmir’, wrote that two weeks after the

creation of Pakistan, he was ordered to proceed to Murree (a border

town near the Jammu and Kashmir border), and meet some leaders

of the Muslim Conference, including Sardar Ibrahim Khan to

formulate a strategy for the liberation of Kashmir.

13. In his ‘appreciation’, Armed Revolt Inside Kashmir’, Major

General Akbar Khan highlighted the strategic, military and economic

importance of Jammu and Kashmir. To him, if Jammu and Kashmir

became part of India, then India could:

‘Establish such stations anywhere within a few miles of the 180-mile-

long vital road and rail route between Lahore and Pindi. In the event

of war, these stations would be a dangerous threat to our most

important civil and military lines of communication. If we were to

protect this route properly, it would take a major portion of our army

to do so, and we would thereby dangerously weaken our front at

Lahore. If we were to concentrate our strength at the front, we would

give India the chance to cut off Lahore, Sialkot, Gujrat and even

Jhelum from our military base at Rawalpindi’. 4

14. Major General Akbar Khan further writes that even in peacetime

the situation could not be acceptable because Pakistan ‘would be

permanently exposed to a threat of such magnitude that our

independence would never be a reality’. 5

15. After giving details of the economic importance of Jammu and

Kashmir and how Pakistan heavily relies on this he concluded:

‘Kashmir’s accession is not simply a matter of desirability but an

absolute necessity for our separate existence’. 6

16. Sadly, many Muslim citizens of Jammu and Kashmir are still

under the influence of the Pakistani propaganda that Pakistan cares

and loves the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and that Pakistan will

help them to obtain independence. The Pakistani rulers planned this

military operation, generally known as the ‘tribal invasion’ in the

name of jihad to protect Pakistani military, strategic and economic

interests; and the welfare of the people was not their concern.

17. Tens of thousands of innocent citizens of Jammu and Kashmir

died, as a direct result of this Pakistani-sponsored ‘jihad’ in 1947. In

Baramulla, alone, according to Major General Akbar Khan, out of

14,000 inhabitants, only 3,000 survived. The rest perished in the first

Pakistani-sponsored ‘jihad’ in Jammu and Kashmir. 7

18. Mr Jinnah claimed he wanted to have a separate country for

Muslims so that they could practice Islam and live in peace. Is there

peace in Pakistan? Are the people of Pakistan in peace? Are the

neighbours of Pakistan in peace? Are minorities of Pakistan live in

peace? The answer to these questions is a big no because, from day

one they adopted hawkish and imperialist policies.

19. The Holy Quran very clearly asserted that Muslims must honour

their pledges and agreements; but instead of honouring their pledges

in accordance with Islamic teaching, they unilaterally violated the

Agreement and attacked Jammu and Kashmir to occupy the State.

Pakistan used proxies, tribesmen, and their army to attack a small

neighbour.

20. The rulers of Pakistan did not care about Islamic obligations to

neighbours and agreements. The invaders were told that everything

was theirs, and what was not removable belonged to Pakistan, for

example, land, buildings, mountains etc.

21. A clear meaning of that to the proxy warriors was, they are at

liberty to loot and plunder, kidnap women, rape them or take them

to Pakistan to make them their wives or sell them. This, the brute

warriors did without showing any mercy to women, children and the

old.

22. Tens of thousands of innocent men and women were butchered,

houses and shops looted and burnt; and hundreds of women raped

and kidnapped. Many women jumped into rivers and wells to save

their dignity and honour.

23. These greedy monsters did not even spare religious places like

churches, mosques, and temples. It is sad to note that most of their

victims, those who were raped and killed, were non – Muslims.

24. However, when it came to looting and plunder, they showed some

kind of ‘equality’ – while looting and plundering religious sentiments

and conscience were not a problem - all citizens of Jammu and

Kashmir were their targets. On the issue of killing other human

beings, their prime targets were non – Muslims, but they justified the

killing of those Muslims who tried to save non – Muslims.

25. I must confess that many Muslims belonging to the present-day so-

called Azad Kashmir were also manipulated in the name of ‘Jihad’

against the Hindu Maharaja and his non-Muslim subjects. Many

people also became part of the gangs that attacked Jammu and

Kashmir and committed crimes against innocent non – Muslims of

Jammu and Kashmir.

26. The Pakistani manipulators and rulers presented these people as

heroes to the people of Pakistan and the so-called Azad Kashmir, and

sadly, some people still regard them as heroes. To me, they were

collaborators who helped those who wanted to occupy our land and

kill and rape our people.

27. Another bitter fact is the role of Muslim soldiers in Maharaja Hari

Singh’s army. These men were under oath to protect the life of the

Maharaja, protect his family and his State of Jammu and Kashmir. In

return these soldiers were trained, provided with weapons, bullets,

and uniforms and they were paid a salary.

28. Sadly, when the Maharaja Hari Singh’s State was attacked by

Pakistan and their proxies, these soldiers betrayed their oath. Instead

of fighting the invaders and protecting the sanctity and integrity of

their motherland – the state of Jammu and Kashmir- they under the

influence of hate preachers and invaders of Pakistan sided with those

who wanted to invade the State and kill and rape innocent citizens of

Jammu and Kashmir.

29. The Pakistani manipulators and hate mongers convinced these

collaborators that what they did (betrayal of their oaths) was

wonderful because they were doing this for the sake of Islam.

30. For the Pakistani rulers and the hate mongers violating oaths and

blatantly ignoring treaty obligations and neighbourly responsibilities

was not a big issue. And that they were heroes as they helped to

invade parts of Jammu and Kashmir and kill Kaffirs (non–Muslims).

31. The Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, under those

conditions, was not able to defend his state and his people. He

requested India for help. They said they can only help If they accede6

to India. To save his state and his people he acceded to India on 26

October 1947.

32. As a direct result of the Pakistani military adventure, the Ruler of

Jammu and Kashmir had to accede to India, and our motherland was

forcibly divided between India and Pakistan. All our problems, death

and destruction, rapes, kidnappings, separation of families,

imprisonments and torture are because of that unwise Pakistani

attack that was carried out on 22 October 1947.

33. During the British Raj, leaders of the Muslim League and the Congress

were allowed to select their candidates for the elections. Even in

Jammu and Kashmir, the political parties were allowed to select their

candidates. However, we, the people of the so-called Azad Kashmir,

in 2024, are not allowed to select our candidates. These decisions are

taken by Pakistani leaders like Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Imran

Khan.

34. When Anwar Ul Haq was elected the Prime Minister of the so-

called Azad Kashmir, he did not declare his cabinet for many weeks.

There were rumours that he had no control over the Assembly

members. One journalist asked him if he was having problems in

forming a government because he did not declare his cabinet. He said

with a smile, I have full control, and I have sent a list of the cabinet

members to Islamabad. Once they approve the list, I will announce

it.

35. I know Anwar Ul Haq very well; he shrewdly told his people

what kind of independence they had. There are many layers of control

in the so-called Azad Kashmir. Briefly, they are as follows:

• No one is allowed to contest elections if they do not declare their

allegiance to Pakistan.

• Even to apply for a government job or a job in a government-

controlled organisation, one has to declare allegiance to Pakistan.

• There are four Lent Officers sent from Pakistan who control all the

affairs of the government. These officers are the Chief Secretary, IG

Police, Accountant General and Secretary Finance.

• Ministry of Kashmir Affairs also controls them.

• Jammu and Kashmir Council, headed by the Chief Executive of

Pakistan and six Pakistani Ministers also control certain important

matters of so-called Azad Kashmir.

• The premier secret agency, ISI, of Pakistan not only controls the

politics of Pakistan, but it also controls all matters of Jammu and

Kashmir, including militancy.

• Apart from the ISI, there are eight other secret agencies of Pakistan

which operate in this region.

• Above all the GOC Murree, Major General of Pakistan stationed in

Murree, who exerts considerable control on all matters of Jammu and

Kashmir.

• It will be pertinent to give an example of this control. One Azad

Kashmiri Prime Minister appointed an officer in the government, and

this appointment was made public. At that time, there was no social

media as we know it now, and people generally communicated by

phone or fax. The PM office received a fax from the GOC Murree

asking who made this appointment. There was panic in the PM Office,

and they replied by saying, ‘a competent authority has made this

appointment.’ Within a minute, an authoritative fax was sent to the

PM office: ‘The competent authority is advised not to make any

appointments without clearing with the GOC Murree.’

36. This explains what kind of independence we people of so-called

Azad Kashmir have. All aspects of political, social and economic are

controlled by Islamabad, and sadly, despite this, some people of so-

called Azad Kashmir shamelessly claim they are independent.

References:

1/ https://criterion-quarterly.com/jinnahs-11-august-1947-

speech/#:~:text=There%20was%20no%20ambiguity%20whatever,the%

20religious%20sense%20because%20that

2/ Transfer of Power, Vol. XI, page 128

3/ Rao, Guru Raj, Legal Aspects of the Kashmir Problem, page 357.

4/ Raiders in Kashmir, Major General Akbar Khan, page 9

5/ Ibid, page 10

6/ Ibid, page 10

7/ Ibid, page 29