The People's Justice Party (PJP) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from 1998 to 2006. It began in 1998 growing out of a protest movement ''Justice for Kashmir'', which first gave rise to the ''Justice Party'' and then the People's Justice Party.
The PJP was centered in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, where it took City Council seats from the long-dominant
Labour Party, drawing its support from Birmingham's
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
population; there were some 90,000 residents of
Azad Kashmiri descent in Birmingham in this period.
History
The Party originated in a ''Free Riaz and Quayyam Campaign'' to obtain the release of two Kashmiri militants (Mohammed Riaz and Quayyam Raja) belonging to the
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front
The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is a militant separatist organization active in both the Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered territories of Kashmir. It was founded by Amanullah Khan, with Maqbool Bhat also credited as a ...
. The two were imprisoned in 1984 for their role in the kidnapping and killing of Indian diplomat
Ravindra Mhatre
Ravindra Hareshwar Mhatre was a 48 year old Indian diplomat in the UK who was kidnapped and later killed in Birmingham in 1984 by British Kashmiri militants who were associated with the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front.
Abduction and killing
Ra ...
in Birmingham. The group was renamed ''Justice for Kashmir'', then renamed ''People's Justice Party.''
On 18 November 2001, the PJP worked with
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars.
The Coalition has c ...
and the loosely organized Islamic Network UK to turn out a large crowd for a rally opposing military response to the
11 September attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
.
Success peaked in the
2001 United Kingdom general election, when PJP garnered 13% of the votes in the neighborhoods of
Small Heath
Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre.
History
Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...
and
Sparkbrook
Sparkbrook is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, England. It is one of the four wards forming the Hall Green formal district within Birmingham City Council.
Etymology
The area receives its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that f ...
, and held 5 seats on the Birmingham city council.
In July 2002 the PJP suffered a heavy setback when a leading member, Khalid Mahmood (no relationship to MP for Perry Barr,
Khalid Mahmood,) left to join the Labour Party.
In 2003 the PJP ran as a "single-issue" party demanding that the British government pressure India in support of Muslims in Kashmir.
The party platform was based on an appeal for votes on two fronts: local and international. It promised single-sex schools, changes to housing grants, and improved street lighting beside commitments to campaign for self-determination for Kashmir, the formation of a
Palestinian state
Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state located in Western Asia. Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization ( ...
.
In 2002 the PJP City Council member Mohammed Nazam was accused of taking part in a rowdy demonstration in which eggs were thrown at the visiting
Pakistani High Commissioner.
In the wake of the
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings, often referred to as 7/7, were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists in London that targeted commuters travelling on the city's public transport system during the mo ...
, PJP treasurer Asrar Ahmad complained to the press that "Muslim people" were being blamed for the attacks without "proof."
The PJP was also active in the anti-war activity at the time of the American-led campaign against the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
regime in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
The PJP in the
Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...
was led by
Shaukat Ali Khan. Ali Khan had earlier been a member of the Labour Party, as had other PJP members. These ex-Labour members formed PJP in response to what they felt was a failure by the Labour government in the UK to deal adequately with ongoing
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
i tensions concerning Kashmir, and what they perceived as a failure to improve the lives of the Kashmiri population in Birmingham.
Some people criticised the party for being focused on only one ethnic group to the exclusion of others, although the PJP itself admitted that at least half their votes come from the Birmingham Kashmiri population, it claimed to be a secular organisation.
The PJP lost all of its seats in the 2004 Birmingham City Council election, but following the finding of postal vote fraud in
Aston and
Bordesley Green
Bordesley Green is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England about two miles east of the city centre. It also contains a road of the same name. It is in the Bordesley Green Ward which also covers some of Small Heath.
Heartlands Hospital is l ...
, by-elections were held in both the wards in July 2005 with the PJP seeing two of its three candidates—Shaukat Ali Khan and Mohammed Saeed—elected in Bordesley Green.
The party was dissolved in March 2006, with many of its members, including both Councillors, joining the
Liberal Democrats.
The PJP group leader Shaukat Ali Khan said talks about disbanding the party began when members worked closely with the Liberal Democrats to expose New Labour's postal vote fraud in Aston and Bordesley Green.
The founder members were Allah Ditta, Raja Skintaj and Rajasab Ali of Azad Kashmir.
The idea of a new party that appealed to the foreign policy concerns of Muslim voters was replicated by the
Respect Party
The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left, socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...
, founded in 2004.
See also
*
Azad Kashmiri diaspora
The Mirpuri diaspora constitutes individuals with an origin in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, now living outside that district. Migration from Mirpur started occurring in the 1920s, when many Mirpuris left for Bombay to work on ...
*
Kashmir conflict
The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed ...
References
External links
Council Lib Dems joined by PJP pairNews announcing the disbanding of the People's Justice Party and its joining the Liberal Democrats; 13 March 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:People's Justice Party (Uk)
Islamic organisations based in the United Kingdom
Political parties established in 1998
Political parties disestablished in 2006
Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom
Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom
1998 establishments in the United Kingdom
2006 disestablishments in the United Kingdom