On Thursday (September 23), British Conservative MP Bob Blackman defended India’s decision to abrogate Article 370 in the UK Parliament.
“Under the Indian law, Muslim women are protected against Triple Talaq. A man saying ‘I divorce you’ three times meant the end…Now Article 370 have been abrogated, they have that protection. Under Indian law, it’s illegal for children under the age of 14 to be married. Prior to the abrogation of Article 370, women under the age of 14 could be married. And of course, under Article 35A, the Hindu Kashmiri Pandits were expelled at gunpoint by Islamist forces. Now, they have the potential to return,” he remarked.
Bob Blackman pointed out, “Local government has been restored in Jammu and Kashmir under the provocation of revoking Article 370. Now, the fact is that the Kashmiri valley is a beautiful area to see. It is an opportunity for tourism, culture, trade, hydroelectric power and many other aspects. But it has been tainted by multiple massacres, terrorist attacks, killings, child marriages, and forced conversions by radical Islamist terrorists.”
United Kingdom MP @BobBlackman talks about how human rights are protected in Jammu and Kashmir after ammendment of Article 370 and Abrogation of article 35A.
— TEAM BHARAT (@TeamBharat_) September 23, 2021
He explains how women benefitted most after ammendment of article 370. #NewJammuKashmir pic.twitter.com/DBXqTX2qph
He also emphasised how Jammu is historically Hindu majority while Ladakh is historically Buddhist majority. The Conservative MP said that religious minorities such as Sikhs, Hindus and Christians have faced persecution in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir Valley. Bob Blackman is a Conservative Party politician and a member of the UK Parliament from Harrow East constituency. Known as the ‘Friend of India’, he talks frequently about the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. He often exposes Pakistan sponsored terror through his tweets and was felicitated with the Padma Shri Award in January 2020.
Bob Blackman moved motion in UK Parliament on 31st anniversary of genocide of Kashmiri Pandits
Earlier on January 18 this year, Bob Blackman had tabled a motion in the UK Parliament, commemorating the 31st anniversary of the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley. The motion expressed deep sadness over the violence perpetrated by the cross-border Islamic terrorists in January 1990 against the Kashmiri Pandit community. Bob Blackman, the primary sponsor of the motion, condemned the desecration of the holy sites that were vandalised and desecrated during the genocide. He expressed his condolences to the families of Kashmiri Pandits, who were mercilessly killed, raped, injured during the exodus.
The motion reiterated that families of Kashmiri Pandits had to flee their homeland to avoid persecution at the hands of the Islamists. The text further read, “(The motion) commends the resilience and courage shown by the members of Kashmiri Pandit community who survived this gruesome ethnic genocide and who did not resort to taking up arms but instead pursued education and aspiration.” Denouncing cross-border terrorism, the motion further emphasised that it is the responsibility of individual nations and the international community at large to prevent crimes against humanity, as witnessed in the case of Kashmiri Hindus.
