UK government ministers and a number of British MPs took to social media or issued statements to condemn the terror strike in Pulwama last week. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a statement addressed Jammu and Kashmir as the 'Indian administered Kashmir' outraged the community as well as MPs, including his own party members.
Tory MP and leader of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Hindus, Bob Blackman, joined calls for foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt to retract his conception of Jammu and Kashmir as ‘India-administered Kashmir.'
In a letter he wrote, “I thank you for your post on twitter last week which showed solidarity with India in the face of this despicable terror attack in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“One part of the post is problematic and I would welcome a retraction from you as soon as possible.
“In your tweet you refer to the state as 'India-administered Kashmir' which implies that India has expanded its own territory at the expense of another nation. This is, of course, factually incorrect as Jammu and Kashmir has always been an integral part of India since its inception in 1947, it chose to be a part of India.
“Your language may offend and again, I suggest retracting this phrase.
Whilst I am writing, might I also ask what support the UK is providing our friends in India in their ongoing battle against terrorists? Press reports have identified the responsible organisation, Jaish-e-Mohammad, who are based in Pakistan and operate on Indian soil...”
Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma condemning the attack also called on the UK government to reconsider the reference to "India-administered Kashmir".
"I was pleased to see the British Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, has offered his sincere condolences to the victims' families, and stated that 'we stand with India', but I am concerned that he used the phrase 'India-administered Kashmir'," he said.
Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma condemned the attack and also called on the UK government to reconsider the reference to "India-administered Kashmir". Sharma wrote to the Foreign Secretary to reiterate that Kashmir is an integral part of the Indian state and has been since it formally acceded in 1947.
He added, "I was pleased to see the British Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, has offered his sincere condolences to the victims' families, and stated that 'we stand with India', but I am concerned that he used the phrase 'India-administered Kashmir.”
