British Kashmiris Take AJK Human Rights Crisis to Downing Street as 90-Name Fatality Report Is Delivered to UK Prime Minister
Diaspora demonstration calls for UK action on civilian protection, British nationals, missing persons, communications restrictions and independent investigation
British Kashmiri community leaders and civil-society representatives today delivered an urgent memorandum and a major human-rights report to the Office of the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, following a demonstration attended by members of the Kashmiri diaspora.
The delegation completed the handover at approximately 15:00, submitting:
· a memorandum requesting coordinated UK action on the human-rights and civilian-protection crisis in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir;
· JKHRO Human Rights Situation Report No. 5;
· an executive advocacy brief;
· documentation concerning alleged coercive measures affecting residents, including UK nationals; and
· supporting official documents relating to education, detention and Fourth Schedule measures.
The memorandum was addressed to the Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Delegation calls for coordinated UK response
The memorandum asks the Prime Minister to direct the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the British High Commission in Islamabad to provide a written, coordinated response covering:
· consular protection for British nationals;
· restoration of communications access;
· humanitarian and medical access;
· independent investigation and preservation of evidence;
· accounting for detainees and missing persons;
· protection of children and continuity of education;
· protection against credible reprisals linked to lawful advocacy in the United Kingdom; and
· support for inclusive and verifiable political dialogue.
The delegation acknowledged that the UK Government has already updated its travel advice, stated that consular assistance is available and raised the situation with Pakistani counterparts. It called for those initial steps to be developed into a measurable policy response reflecting the expanded evidence documented since June.
“Today’s handover brings the documented experiences of families in AJK directly to the heart of the UK Government. We are not asking Britain to adopt a party position or determine Kashmir’s constitutional future. We are asking the Prime Minister to protect British nationals, press for the truth about the dead and missing, support independent investigation and help prevent further loss of life.”— Sardar Aftab Khan
Report contains 90 named fatality records
JKHRO Human Rights Situation Report No. 5 documents developments between 5 June and 3 October 2026. Its consolidated register contains 90 named fatality records, including one person identified in the memorandum as a British national, with the latest recorded death dated 22 September.
JKHRO stresses that the 90-name register is a documentation baseline. Inclusion does not establish that every death involved the same actor, circumstances or legal cause. A further ten names remain outside the working total pending case-level verification, while higher publicly circulated casualty figures have not been treated as independently reconciled.
The report calls for access to post-mortem and hospital records, ballistic and firearms evidence, CCTV and original video files, digital metadata, deployment and command records, ammunition records, mortuary and burial records, and independent witness testimony.
Allegations concerning bodies not returned to families
The report records allegations that the bodies of Shahzaib Habib, Fahad Barkat and Usman Sabir have not been returned to their families. According to information supplied to JKHRO, the bodies were temporarily buried by AJK Police at an undisclosed location. JKHRO has called for immediate official clarification, disclosure of the location and legal status of the remains, preservation of evidence and dignified return to the families unless a lawful judicial restriction applies.
British nationals and diaspora families
The memorandum says communications restrictions and movement disruption have made it difficult for British citizens and UK residents to contact relatives, establish whether family members are safe, locate injured or detained relatives, arrange medical support and plan travel or emergency departure.
It also states that at least four UK nationals have reportedly been placed on Fourth Schedule lists because of activities connected with raising human-rights concerns. This claim requires case-level examination by the UK Government.
“Restricted communications have left British families unable to confirm whether relatives are safe, injured, detained or missing. The UK Government has acknowledged that concern. We are now asking for a clear consular mechanism that families can use, together with measurable diplomatic engagement to restore communications and secure access to information.” Tariq Shareif
Detention, disappearance and anti-terrorism measures
The report documents conflicting accounts concerning the reported arrest and non-production of JKJAAC leader Shoukat Nawaz Mir, as well as a separate missing-person concern involving Dr Abdul Manan. It also examines the cases of 88 people processed under terrorism-related and other serious criminal provisions following a solidarity protest in Islamabad.
The memorandum stresses that an FIR, detention order or Fourth Schedule listing does not establish guilt. It calls for communicated grounds, individualised evidence, legal representation, family access, judicial or statutory review, custody registers and effective remedies.
Official documents reveal action affecting schools and children
The JKHRO report also examines the effect of administrative and security measures on education. Official documents reviewed by JKHRO record the withdrawal of registration from 13 private schools. The stated ground concerned alleged participation by school management, staff or students in activities characterised by the authorities as prejudicial to the integrity and solidarity of the State.
The report separately examines the reported sealing of Chinar Public Model School following the arrest of Muhammad Shafique. JKHRO says that action directed at an adult should not be extended to students, teachers or an educational institution without a separate lawful basis, institution-specific evidence and a proportionate justification.
“Children must not lose their education because an adult is accused of political or civic activity. If authorities take action against a school, they must disclose the evidence, give the institution a fair opportunity to respond and ensure that students do not lose examination access or an academic year,” said Raja Wasif
UK urged to support independent investigation
The memorandum asks the Prime Minister to support a prompt, independent, impartial and transparent investigation into every potentially unlawful death and serious injury. It also requests:
· publication of complete casualty and custody records;
· clarification of the status of missing persons;
· preservation of forensic and digital evidence;
· disclosure of the whereabouts of remains not returned to families;
· access for journalists and independent human-rights monitors;
· medical and humanitarian access;
· review of proscription, detention and Fourth Schedule measures; and
· inclusive political dialogue involving authorities, political parties, JKJAAC, civil society and affected communities.
Delegation seeks written response from Number 10
The memorandum asks the Prime Minister to identify a senior FCDO lead and provide a written cross-government response. It argues that UK engagement can remain neutral on constitutional questions while focusing on protection of life, safety of British nationals, due process, independent evidence, humanitarian protection and peaceful resolution.
“The memorandum delivered today offers the Government a practical and non-partisan framework. The immediate priorities are to account for the dead, detained and missing; protect British nationals and their families; restore reliable communications; preserve evidence; safeguard children’s education; and move the crisis away from coercion and towards verifiable dialogue.”
British Kashmiri delegation
The complete JKHRO Human Rights Situation Report No. 5, including the 90-name fatality register, case studies, methodology, recommendations and supporting annexes, is available through the JKHRO Reports and Data page: