UK MP Bob Blackman: I fully support India’s efforts to catch sympathizers of terrorists

London: UK Member of Parliament Bob Blackman has stated his unwavering support for India’s efforts to apprehend the terrorists and anyone who assisted them in carrying out the Pahalgam terrorist assault.

In order to support India’s decision to take any action, including military action if required, to destroy the terrorist bases located on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan, he said he hoped that all political parties in the UK would join the Indian government in doing so.

Blackman expressed his sympathies to the victims, their families, and all Hindus during his speech at the memorial service for the Pahalgam assault victims held at India House in London. He even spoke about how beautiful the area is and remembered his trip to Kashmir.

“We come to share the grief,” Bob Blackman remarked. Horror strikes the human heart. It is unacceptable for this conduct (the terrorist assault) to show animosity against anybody based on their religious beliefs. In the House of Commons, I brought up this matter.

To ensure that we convey not just our condolences and support for India, but also for whatever steps India deems appropriate in the wake of this terrorist incident, I requested a statement from the administration. The unfortunate truth is that such incidents may increase sharply. My sympathies go out to the victims, their families, and all Hindus. We sincerely apologize about that.

“I had the chance to go to the Kashmir Valley nine years ago, and I will always remember how beautiful it is. In actuality, these individuals want to curb tourism. We cannot tolerate such crimes by terrorists. Therefore, let me state that, in my opinion, I would wholeheartedly support any action taken by India to apprehend terrorists and those who have supported them and ensure that they are held accountable. If we cannot hold them accountable, we must eradicate them.

Whatever action India decides to take, including military action if necessary to eliminate those terrorist bases that exist on the opposite side of the Line of Control (LoC), I expect all the political parties in the United Kingdom to join the Indian government in expressing that support,” he continued.

To honor the victims of the April 22 terrorist assault in Pahalgam, the Indian High Commission in the UK hosted a somber memorial service at India House.

Labour MP and Indo-Pacific Foreign Office Minister Catherine West expressed her sorrow over the “horrific terrorist attack” that occurred in Pahalgam. In response to “cowardly attacks of terrorism” against defenseless citizens, she said, the UK stands with India.

“I wanted to express condolences for the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and my thoughts are with those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India,” West said during her remarks at the ceremony. Many of the individuals in this room are part of the Indian diaspora, which serves as a live link between India and the UK.

I am aware that this tragedy has deeply affected many people. The UK supports India in the face of the heinous acts of terrorism against defenseless citizens, as Secretary of State Lisa Nandy also said last night. I wanted to express my gratitude to my Lords, my Ladies, who are seated here, as well as to the two major parties in the House for coming this evening as backbench members across the House of Lords.”

“Today, we heard extremely somber statements from both houses of the House: remember those victims and their families, and we must stand together during these perilous times. We must emphasize the importance of justice and provide support to the families and communities that are enduring extreme grief. I sincerely appreciate the chance to participate in today’s prayer for peace. “We’re on your side,” she said.

A number of luminaries attended the event to offer their condolences and support, including Bob Blackman, Maharashtra’s Minister of Social Justice Sanjay Shirsat, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L. Murugan, and numerous other UK Members of Parliament.

Members of the Indian diaspora from all across the United Kingdom gathered to show their support for the victims and their families and to pay their respects. In his speech, Vikram Doraiswami, India’s High Commissioner to the UK, emphasized the value of fortitude, solidarity, and justice in the face of tragedies like these.

According to Doraiswami, the assault was carried out to deter the people of Jammu and Kashmir from going about their daily lives normally and from using their jobs and enterprises to better their lives.

“First and foremost, why is this something that deserves our attention?” Doraiswami said. This is the highest number of civilian deaths since the Mumbai terror attacks, and it explains why. A similar terrorist incident occurred in 2019 when the paramilitary convoy was attacked.

In this case, the authorities apprehended individuals, identified them based on their religious and personal identities, and then executed them. The vast majority of them were civilians, and everyone’s only purpose was to have a vacation. This exercise was conducted with the sole intent of inciting fear and undermining the steady normalization of conditions in Jammu & Kashmir.

“The goal of this exercise was to keep the people of Jammu and Kashmir from going about their daily lives normally, to keep them from enhancing their lives through employment and business, to scare people away from visiting this stunning region of India, and to sabotage the normalization of the political process that had been introduced by the extremely successful holding of an election.

I can tell you this: during the last several decades, there have been many attempts to intimidate or divert India’s attention from its progress or attempts to destroy India’s identity and the oneness of its people regardless of language, caste, creed, or religion. It hasn’t worked previously; I can assure you of that. It will never work; it won’t work today.

The number of us is 1.4 billion. As a country, we are progressing. Together, we are a nation in constant motion. We are a country with its own problems, some of which have been caused by past events and others by our own actions, but none of which will be stopped by those who think that murdering people is the answer,” he said.

People had come to Pahalgam to spend the vacation, according to Vikram Doraiswami, who also named a couple who had just been married and a kid as among the fatalities. He restated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements that those responsible for the assault would pay a price and that India will never forget or forgive.

But keep in mind that these were the lives of regular folks,” he remarked. Please remember that these were people like you and me who wanted to spend time with loved ones, travel, broaden their horizons, and share priceless moments during this brief journey we call life. And it was these individuals who were denied that most fundamental and basic chance at life.

Take that young woman’s photo there, for example. The young woman was recently married to her spouse. On their honeymoon, they were there. That little kid’s life won’t change history’s tragedy, as we do it for no reason. We are creating the art of destiny, but it won’t change. There won’t be any change.”

The only thing it accomplishes is lightening people’s lives. “Those who think they can organize and send people like that will like this across the line of control to create terror, that which was always going to create.” Therefore, I implore you to keep in mind that hate has no place in our hearts in everything you do.

Enmity has no place in our ideas. We are all of us Indian. No matter what language we use, where we’re from, or how we worship, this is our nation, and we shouldn’t let other people tell us how to react. What I can say is that we will never forget, we will never forgive, and we will punish our Prime Minister for what he stated lately. No promises will be made.

Those who did this atrocity, those who planned it, and those who supported it will all have to pay a price; there will be no forgiveness. Nothing in the world will prevent us from accomplishing that, either. And no matter how far away they are or where they are, nothing in the world will stop us from completing our objective,” he said.

Terrorists killed 25 Indian citizens and one Nepali citizen on Tuesday when they targeted visitors at Pahalgam’s Baisaran Meadow. The assault was one of the bloodiest in the valley since the Pulwama incident in 2019, which claimed the lives of forty CRPF jawans. India has taken serious action against Pakistan for its backing of cross-border terrorism in the wake of the incident.