Kashmir: Increasing Tension

Lord Callanan Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, I am sure that noble Lords on all sides of the House will want to express our deepest condolences to the families of those who were killed in last week’s terror attack near Pahalgam. It is important that we work with partners in India and Pakistan to make sure that the fallout from this atrocious attack does not lead to a violent escalation and further unnecessary suffering. Can the Minister update the House on what steps the Government are taking, alongside relevant parties in the region, to try to reach a resolution?

I am sure the Minister is aware of the extremely concerning video that shows a Pakistani diplomat making a throat-slitting gesture towards Indian demonstrators outside the high commission in London last week. Particularly given the previous Urgent Question, this sort of threatening action is completely unacceptable on the streets of London, particularly from what appears to be an accredited diplomat. What actions are the Government going to take against this individual?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Collins of Highbury) (Lab)]

I start by sharing the noble Lord’s comments in relation to this despicable act. We express our condolences to all those affected, loved ones and the people of India. The Prime Minister certainly expressed that when he called Prime Minister Modi on 24 April.

The noble Lord asked specific questions about what steps we are taking to ensure that the heightened tensions do not lead to the risk of escalation. We encourage all to commit to effective channels of engagement to safeguard stability in the region. Alongside international partners, the United Kingdom continues to engage in dialogue in pursuit of long-term regional stability. On Sunday, the Foreign Secretary spoke to both the Indian Foreign Minister and the Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister. We encourage all parties to take a measured approach. The Foreign Secretary has spoken to Secretary Rubio of the United States and will speak to the French Foreign Minister shortly to discuss the situation. The United Kingdom, of course, supported the UN Security Council press statement at the weekend, which condemned the attack and reaffirmed that acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable.

On all actions that create or escalate the unsettling of communities in this country, we are working with all British-Pakistani and British-Indian communities to ensure that we stand with them at this difficult time on de-escalation and on building strong community cohesion. We condemn any instance of vandalism and call for any protesters to protest in a peaceful and law-abiding way. We look to all community and faith leaders to spread the message that now is a time for coming together across religious and ethnic differences.