Oldham's first Asian councillor Jawaid secures high-profile advisory role

Jawaid Iqbal

Oldham’s first Asian councillor Jawaid Iqbal has been appointed Overseas Advisor to the Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir).

Mr Iqbal will keep busy in his new role as an advisor to the Azad Kashmir Prime Minister as he will act as an effective communication link between the Kashmiri community and relevant stakeholders.

He will also be helping to support relationships between Kashmiri community in United Kingdom.

Mr Iqbal said: "I am really excited to take the role of an overseas advisor to the prime minister.

"It is a huge honour and I am grateful to his excellency the prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan for the appointment.”

Mr Iqbal was the first Asian Councillor in Oldham when he was elected in 1987.

He went on to co-author a book Hum Log (We People), which was first published in 1997 to tell the stories of Oldham’s first Asian communities and how they were perceived in Britain when they began to arrive in the United Kingdom.

In his new role, Mr Iqbal will be highlighting the plight of Kashmiri people who he states have been suffering under the Indian occupying regime for over 70 years.

He added: “One hundred thousand Kashmiri's have been killed during last 30 years in occupied Kashmir.

"I call upon British Parliament, United Nations and world leaders to come together to resolve the issue of Kashmir.

"Surely Kashmiri people can’t continue to suffer under the brutal regime of Indian occupying forces.”

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