An All Parliamentary Group on Kashmir (APPGK) which has regularly highlighted alleged human rights abuses in Kashmir has received upwards of £30,000 for their visit to the Pakistan occupied Kashmir by the government of Pakistan.
According to the register of all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs), the group on Kashmir chaired by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams, received a "benefit in kind". The compensation fund ranges from £31,501-£33,000 on February 18, 2020 from the Pakistan government for a "visit to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir" between February 18 and 22.
The Group had received similar funding two years ago from the Pakistan high commission in London worth £10,501 - £12,000 for a "visit to Pakistan and Kashmir" between 17th -20th September 2018.
Abrahams, the Chair of the Group, was deported from India to Dubai earlier in February this year after Indian government officials stated that her e-visa was invalid. She conducted a meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on the following day, it was reported.
APPGK constitutes cross-party MPs and peers who aim to "support the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people through dialogue; to seek support from British parliamentarians; to highlight the abuses of human rights in Kashmir; and to seek justice for the people there".
On Wednesday the group held a video meeting with Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, minister for South Asia and members raised on-going tensions in the sub-continent. In a statement to the Times of India,
Labour MP Tan Dhesi, who participated in the meeting said,
"I raised concerns about the rising tensions in the Kashmir region between China, India and Pakistan while asking the minister to press his counterparts to ease the clampdown, free democratically elected leaders and ensure that human rights of all are protected. I also requested him to recommend that the Kartapur Sahib corridor is opened as soon as possible.”
