Pakistani and Indian diaspora in UK call for peace as Kashmir tensions escalate
A deadly on attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region has sparked tensions between India and Pakistan.
Members of the Pakistani and Indian diaspora in the UK have shared their concerns after tensions escalated between the countries following a deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region.
Twenty-six civilians were killed in the resort town of Pahalgam on April 22, marking the deadliest militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir since 2019.
India has blamed Pakistan for the attack, a charge Islamabad strongly rejects.
The latest flare-up led the two nuclear-armed rivals to expel each other’s diplomats and nationals, as well as the closing of airspace.
India has also suspended a critical water-sharing treaty with Pakistan.
Thousands of miles away in East Ham in London, members of the Pakistani and Indian diaspora are hoping for “harmony and peace”.
Adil Iqbal Malik, a British Pakistani lawyer, said that the tensions are not a “new issue”.
“This is not the first time this has happened,” Mr Iqbal Malik told the PA news agency.
“Since 1947 there have been more than five wars and hostility between both countries.”
The 47-year-old, who has been based in London for the last 12 years, said he wants peace in the region.
“People who are living here in the UK, they are worried about their families back home,” he said.
“The region is a nuclear flash point and Kashmir is a core issue between both countries.
“If anything happens, it’s a very worrying thing for the whole world, not just for us, because if anything happens, they are both holding nuclear weapons.”
Junaid Ali, 45, from Islamabad, who runs a local food bank in East Ham, said the news is worrying.
“You can see the tensions on the borders between these two countries,” he said.
Mr Ali, who was recently awarded a British Empire Medal as part of the King’s Honours list for his work supporting the Newham community during the pandemic, said community cohesion is important.
“Here (in Newham) both residents of India and Pakistan are living like brothers and sisters,” he said.
“There is no such tension here.
“I think that both countries should sit at the table and resolve their issues, because the war will not lead to anywhere except destruction.”
Devshi Khatani and his wife Jayashree, from the Indian side of the border, said they are concerned about a war starting.
The couple, who live in East Ham, said the attack in Kashmir should not have happened in the first place.
“I think it’s really bad. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place, because they’re innocent. They didn’t do anything,” said Mrs Khatani
“They were just visiting Kashmir.
“I’m definitely concerned about a war starting.”
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations.
They have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.
