Rochdale (TDI): In the wake of renewed hostilities between India and Pakistan this month, a leading diaspora organization is calling on Westminster to abandon its traditional hands-off approach and actively broker a lasting settlement in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Kashmir Development Foundation (KDF) has laid out a seven-point plan that it says could defuse the region’s most dangerous flashpoint and safeguard both British strategic interests and community cohesion at home.
KDF’s field teams report that in AJK, 31 people were killed, 123 injured and nearly 300 homes destroyed, while in Indian Occupied territory, at least 21 civilians lost their lives and dozens more were hurt, between May 7-10.
KDF’s executive director, Sardar Aftab Khan, warns that without a sustained UK-led effort, the conflict will simply revert to its familiar cycle of violence, even after a ceasefire has happened for now.
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“This was not an isolated flare-up,” Khan said, “It was a warning shot. If we continue to treat Kashmir as a bilateral problem for India and Pakistan alone, we will sleepwalk into another crisis that could have catastrophic consequences.”
Khan argues that the UK’s special responsibilities—both as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and as the erstwhile administering power at the time of partition—demand more than routine statements of concern.
Instead, he wants ministers to resurrect UN Security Council Resolution 47, which in 1948 called for a plebiscite to determine the will of Kashmir’s people, a promise that has never been honored.
A Strategic Imperative
Beyond the human tragedy, KDF highlights several pressing British interests at stake. First, the India-Pakistan rivalry remains one of the world’s most volatile nuclear flashpoints: a miscalculation could trigger a regional war with global implications.
Second, a prospective UK-India free-trade agreement, long touted as a way to boost growth and help ease the UK’s cost-of-living crisis, risks being undermined by sanctions or a manifest lack of mutual trust if tensions persist.
Domestically, the latest violence has sown anxiety among British South Asian communities, particularly in urban centers such as Leeds, Birmingham and London.
“People here are watching relatives under fire, living with the threat of displacement and fearing consular neglect,” Khan said.
He estimates there are more than one million British Kashmiris, many of whom feel their voices are unheard in Whitehall.
Seven Steps to Peace
KDF’s briefing paper titled “Charting a Roadmap to Peace: UK Stewardship and Diaspora Engagement for Lasting Resolution in Jammu & Kashmir” suggests a roadmap for ministers:
- Reaffirm the plebiscite promise by advocating a UN-supervised vote.
- Launch 24/7 consular helplines in Islamabad and New Delhi for stranded UK nationals.
- Link trade progress with de-escalation, insisting on troop withdrawals and a binding ceasefire.
- Direct humanitarian aid through diaspora-led charities and trusted partners on both sides of the LoC.
- Empower diaspora peacebuilding via academic, interfaith and business exchanges.
- Establish a UK Community Cohesion Forum, bringing together counsellors, faith leaders and activists to head off communal tensions.
- Appoint a Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir to coordinate efforts and report directly to Parliament.
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KDF volunteers have begun submitting the full briefing to MPs across the country, urging them to press the foreign secretary and to convene select-committee hearings.
The foundation also hopes to foster greater collaboration between Pakistani, Indian and Kashmiri diaspora groups in the UK, viewing them as critical stakeholders in any durable solution.
“This is a moment for British leadership,” Khan says. “We have the leverage, the legal responsibility and the moral obligation. If we fail to act now, we risk another generation caught between the standoff of two nuclear powers—and more blood on the ground.”
With memories of this month’s near-war still raw, KDF’s call places the UK at a crossroads: maintain the familiar policy of abstention, or step forward to help chart a genuine path to peace.
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